DEVELOPMENT OF FIRST UNDERGROUND POWER PLANT

[Anchor Lead]

The Dangin-ri power plant was Korea's very first power station built in 1930. But as years passed, it was eventually shut down due to deterioration and was doomed to disappear into history. But hold that thought. Now another power plant sits right below the Dangin-ri power plant site. It's the first ever underground power plant in the world.

[Pkg]

From dusk till dawn, the chimneys continuous spewing white fume. The smoke is coming from an LNG plant in Seoul, built underground, just below the site where the old Dangin-ri power plant used to be. Thundering sounds fill up the underground space that houses massive facilities. The fuel is natural gas which produces electricity twice, once using a gas turbine and a second time using a steam turbine.

[Soundbite] "This is the generator which is connected to the gas turbine over there."

This is the world's first underground power generation facility. Following a five month test trial period, operation began in November. Some 800 megawatts of electricity is generated here. It's enough to power half of the 3.7 million households in Seoul. The underground plant also supplies heating for 100-thousand homes in the vicinity including Yeouido. Emergency power reserved for key state infrastructure is also generated here. There's an added layer of safety, having such a facility underground.

[Soundbite] PARK YEONG-GYU(KOREA MIDLAND POWER CO.) : "The underground location has many advantages in providing stable electricity during contingencies."

What's left of the old Dangin-ri power plant generators number 4 and 5, will be renovated to be used as public spaces in 2022. Generator number 4 will be turned into a venue for cultural activities, while 5 will be kept intact to serve as an educational site. Trees will be planted to create a park with a rooftop observatory. They will be open to public in June.