Public energy enterprise Korea Midland Power will spend around 1.8 trillion won ($1.59 billion) on its facilities until 2025 to combat global warming and fine dust, said the company Saturday.

The company plans to cut down the amount of air pollutants from 35,600 tons in 2015 to 4,400 tons in 2025, an 88 percent decrease within a decade. One trillion won will be spent on improving the performance of its coal thermal power stations and 470 billion won on its eco-friendly facilities.

Another 300 billion won will be spent on the Shin Boryeong and Shin Seocheon thermal power plants currently under construction. The desulfurization system and denitrification catalysts of the plants will be improved to reduce the amount of air pollutants produced by 67 percent. 

The company will also improve its carbon capture and storage system by installing a compressing and storing facility.

In 2013, KOMIPO became the first domestic company to commercialize the carbon capture and storage system by constructing the largest domestic 10-megawatt capturing facility at Boryeong Power Generation Site, after 10 years of research.

The captured carbon dioxide can be used in various sectors and efforts are being made to expand its usage, particularly in the agricultural sector, with KOMIPO having signed an agreement on carbon supply and reuse with Hankook Special Gases in 2015.

By Yim Ji-min (jiminy@heraldcorp.com)