Recent TCP (Tidal Current Power) projects in Korea

Having strong current on the west coast with up to 10 m tidal range in Korea, there are many suitable and applicable locations for TCP (Tidal Current Power) application in Korea. Not only the west coast, but also the south west regions having narrow channels between islands creating fast ocean stream are suitable for TCP. The first TCP application in Korea is 1 MW helical VAT (Vertical Axis Turbine) device installed in Wooldolmog area in 2008. The first HAT (Horizontal Axis Turbine) TCP device of 25 KW was developed and installed in cooling water weir of Samchonpo power plant in 2008. Furthermore, a 100 kW prototype HAT TCP device is being planned to be installed in Daebang strait in 2009. Another big project would be Inchon TCP farm of 200 MW on the west coast in Korea. The consortium of 5 members was formed in April, 2009. This site will be the largest TCP site in the world. The paper describes recent TCP projects in Korea with background and environmental conditions of the projects.