Turning Dams into "Large-Scale ESS"...

K-Water Considers Pumped-Storage Hydropower at 7 Sites Including Soyang River Dam
By Kim Young-hee | January 14, 2026

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▲ Soyang River Dam. Provided by Korea Water Resources Corporation

South Korea’s major multi-purpose dams, including the Soyang River Dam, are being considered for transformation into large-scale energy storage systems (ESS) to meet the demands of the renewable energy era. As the Korea Water Resources Corporation (K-Water) moves forward with pumped-storage hydropower projects using existing dams, expectations are growing for enhanced stability in power supply amid the fluctuations of renewable energy.

On January 14, K-Water announced in its report to the Ministry of Climate, Energy, and Environment that it plans to expand pumped-storage facilities to a total capacity of 100 megawatts (MW) across seven existing dam sites, including the Soyang River Dam, by 2030.

Pumped-storage hydropower works by pumping water from a lower reservoir to an upper reservoir when there is surplus electricity, and then releasing it to generate power during peak demand. It functions as a large-scale Energy Storage System (ESS).

With the increasing share of renewable energy and the resulting variability in solar and wind power generation due to weather conditions, pumped-storage is gaining attention as a realistic solution to ensure a stable power supply.

K-Water plans to carry out the project jointly with Korea Midland Power Co., Ltd. The seven candidate dam sites under consideration are:
Soyang River Dam, Yeongju Dam, Imha Dam, Seomjingang Dam, Hapcheon Dam, Chungju Dam, and Andong Dam.
These sites were initially selected based on blueprint analyses that assessed feasibility for securing elevation differences and appropriate distances between upper and lower reservoirs.

A K-Water official stated, “We are currently in the blueprint review phase. The final project sites will be selected after comprehensively considering impacts on flood control and water supply, as well as local conditions.”