South Korea to boost LNG use in power production, transport to cut pollution

South Korea is looking to switch the coal-fired power plants currently under construction in the country to LNG-fueled turbines as it looks to cut down on pollution.

According to a joint statement by South Korean ministry of trade industry and energy with the ministries of environment, transport and finance noted that the government is looking to reduce the fine dust emissions by 30 percent by 2022.

To cut the emissions further, the government will provide incentives for people switching to more environmentally friendly fuels. This will also include scrapping some 2.2 million diesel-powered vehicles by 2022.

According to the statement, four coal-fired power plants that are in the early stages of development will be switched to using liquefied natural gas (LNG) as fuel. The country has already shut down three older coal-fired power plants with seven more to follow by the targeted date.

Earlier this month, it was reported that the country will look to up its LNG imports as it phases out coal for power production.

The government’s emissions reduction plan would cost about 7.2 trillion won ($6.3 billion).

1 KRW = 0.000878172 USD

LNG World News Staff