"Solving Semiconductor Power Crisis on Highways"…Gyeonggi Research Institute's Novel Proposal

Semiconductors run on electricity. How to secure electrical power is the key issue. As the world's largest Yongin semiconductor cluster and artificial intelligence (AI) data centers are set to establish in earnest, Gyeonggi Province's power demand is forecast to surge exponentially. By 2050, Gyeonggi Province's annual electricity consumption is expected to reach approximately 285,000 GWh, double the current level.

However, securing an "electricity pathway (transmission network)" to deliver generated electricity to where it is needed has emerged as a national challenge. Typically, establishing new massive transmission towers and transmission lines takes more than 10 years just for site selection due to resident opposition and land compensation issues. In response, the Gyeonggi Research Institute has drawn attention by announcing a plan for "Gyeonggi Energy Expressway" that would resolve the power crisis decisively by utilizing the province's 840km of highway infrastructure.

According to the research report released by the Gyeonggi Research Institute titled "Finding the Answer to Power Crisis in the Semiconductor Era on Highways," highways are the optimal breakthrough solution because they are already state-owned land, allowing transmission and distribution conduits to be laid underground immediately without private land compensation or resident conflicts.

The shortest route to bring approximately 3GW of large-scale solar power to be generated from West Coast reclaimed lands (Shihwa, Hwawong, Pyeongtaek Lake) to the southern Gyeonggi region where the semiconductor industry is concentrated is the West Coast and Pyeongtaek-Siheung Expressway. Adopting this method can dramatically reduce the transmission line construction period, which previously averaged 13 years, to 5-7 years or less, completely resolving the power supply timing issue for Yongin semiconductor factories that will operate in phases beginning in 2029.

Highways function not only as conduits for electricity but also as excellent "zero-emission power plants" in themselves. Utilizing approximately 840km of vacant areas along highway slopes, embankments, and soundproof walls throughout the province allows installation of 588MW-scale solar facilities. The electricity generated annually from these facilities alone amounts to 773GWh, an enormous quantity that could power an entire mid-sized city.

Additionally, a strategy to install 4MW-class large-capacity energy storage systems (ESS) at rest areas and interchanges along expressways is included. By storing surplus electricity generated from solar power during the day and releasing it at night when power consumption is high, the limit of solar power capacity that existing distribution lines can accommodate significantly increases from 14MW to 18MW, allowing immediate relief even before a large-scale transmission network is completed.

Notably, this plan is designed as a "win-win model" that shares development revenues with local residents. It will be pursued as a resident participation-type project in which province residents or local residents participate as investors with 4% or more of project costs, with proceeds from solar power generation returned to residents as regular dividends. When proceeding with resident participation-type projects, the project legally avoids applying solar facility separation distance regulations, and residents who had previously opposed power plant construction become shareholders and stakeholders in the project, achieving a three-fold effect of securing sites, generating revenue, and gaining community acceptance.

The Gyeonggi Research Institute proposed establishing a three-party cooperative system among Gyeonggi Province, Korea Expressway Corporation, and Korea Electric Power Corporation for successful implementation. Gyeonggi Province oversees overall policy and reflects plans in the national power grid, Korea Expressway Corporation provides road sites and conduits to generate revenue from idle assets, and Korea Electric Power Corporation resolves transmission bottlenecks and acquires the completed power network in the future. The institute recommended first pursuing the "West Coast-Hwawong-Siheung Collector Feeder Network" connecting West Coast reclaimed land solar facilities as a pilot project, then expanding it to the entire southern Gyeonggi region including Gyeongbu and Yeongdong Expressways and nationwide expressways.

Kim Jeom-san, senior research fellow at the Gyeonggi Research Institute, said, "The success of the semiconductor and AI industries depends on whether necessary electricity can be supplied in a timely manner and in an environmentally friendly way," adding "Building an energy network using expressways is a realistic and innovative solution that can overcome the enormous barriers of resident conflicts and land compensation."