Gas power plant in Chungcheongbuk-do, South Korea. Approximate location 36.64927, 127.42218.
GasChungcheongbuk-doSouth Korea
Smart Energy Center (Cheongju) power station is a 585 MW gas power station in Chungcheongbuk-do, South Korea. It is operated by SK Hynix [100%]. Based on its capacity (estimated), it can supply roughly 659k homes (estimated). It ranks #64 of 216 South Korea power plants by installed capacity. Commissioned in 2024, it is around 2 years old — recently built. In context, gas supplies about 27.9% of South Korea's electricity; the national grid averages 417 gCO₂/kWh (40.0% low-carbon) (2025).
Plant data: WRI Global Power Plant Database (CC BY 4.0), id GOGPT_smartcentercheongju_southk.
Known, modelled and calculated values are kept separate. Missing fields are shown as unavailable.
The capacity and/or fuel fields on this page include a source-backed provenance label from GEM, an official registry, Wikidata, OSM, or a cross-source match.
capacity: GEM · 2026 · L100000406332; fuel: GEM GOGPT
At 585 MW, Smart Energy Center (Cheongju) power station is well above the median gas plant in South Korea (515 MW). Gas plants burn natural gas either in open-cycle turbines for fast peaking, or in combined-cycle units that recover exhaust heat in an HRSG to reach roughly 55–62% efficiency — the cleanest-burning fossil option.
Capacity comparison computed from the WRI Global Power Plant Database; fuel-type context is general engineering background.
Installed capacity (MW), WRI Global Power Plant Database (CC BY 4.0).
Operated by SK Hynix [100%].
This gas plant burns natural gas in a turbine — often in a combined-cycle setup — to generate electricity. It sits in a monsoon hot-summer continental climate (Köppen Dwa) — Northern Hemisphere, latitude 36.6°N — which shapes how much energy it can produce and how its output varies through the year.
Monthly mean temperature
Heating degree-days here run 25% above the median power plant in this dataset — a proxy for how much extra energy heated equipment must replace through its surfaces in winter.
Climate heat-demand index: 64/100 — this site sits in the mid third of the power plants we cover by heating degree-days.
A gas turbine here also runs ~0% below its ISO (15°C) rating at this annual mean (typical CCGT curve, estimate).
Climate normals: WorldClim 2.1 (1970–2000 monthly normals, 10 arc-min, CC BY 4.0); zone: Köppen-Geiger world climate classification (Kottek et al. 2006, 0.5° grid). Degree-days & heat-demand index computed by PowerAtlas — a modelled heat-demand proxy, not a measured site figure.
For a plant’s outdoor hardware — heat-recovery steam generators (HRSG), expansion joints, valves, flanges and their insulation — the local climate sets how fast unprotected steel and coatings degrade. This site sits in a mild atmospheric environment (estimated ISO 9223 class C2 — Low), with thermal cycling the leading environmental stress.
Higher environmental severity is exactly where protective removable insulation pays back most: a sheltered micro-climate slows corrosion, UV and thermal-cycling damage and extends outdoor hardware service life. This is an indicative site-climate context — not a condition assessment of any specific plant or operator.
Indicative estimate via the ISO 9223:2012 informative method (atmospheric corrosivity from temperature, time-of-wetness and airborne salinity), using WorldClim climate normals, the Köppen-Geiger class and coast distance. Indicative, not a measured corrosion rate.
The #34 largest gas power plant of 77 in South Korea by capacity.
South Korea has 77 gas power plants in this dataset, together about 58,006 MW of capacity.
Coordinates 36.64927, 127.42218 from WRI Global Power Plant Database (CC BY 4.0). View on OpenStreetMap.
Smart Energy Center (Cheongju) power station is a 585 MW gas power plant in Chungcheongbuk-do, South Korea, commissioned in 2024.
Its output is enough to supply roughly 658,877 homes (estimated).
Smart Energy Center (Cheongju) power station is operated by SK Hynix [100%].
