Completion of the liquefied natural gas cogeneration plant that will supply heat and power to the Yongin semiconductor cluster has been delayed, as a worldwide shortage of gas turbines disrupts procurement of key components.
Energy industry sources said on the 14th that the target completion date for the first 1,050-megawatt unit at the Yongin semiconductor cluster cogeneration plant, jointly developed by SK Innovation E&S and Korea Midland Power, has been pushed back 18 months to June 2030 from December 2028.
The main cause is delayed delivery of gas turbines. A gas turbine is the core equipment at a cogeneration plant, burning LNG to generate electricity while using exhaust heat to produce steam. At Yongin, that steam will be supplied to SK hynix fabs. Korea Midland Power said it had adjusted the project schedule to match manufacturers' available delivery dates as the global gas turbine market shifted in favor of suppliers.
The delay runs counter to efforts by the government and SK hynix to accelerate construction of the Yongin fabs. Responding to rising demand for artificial intelligence memory, SK hynix moved up the opening of the first cleanroom at its first Yongin fab to February 2027 from May that year.
The plant delay will not immediately disrupt fab operations. Korea Midland Power said electricity will come from the Korea Electric Power Corp. grid, and that separate steam boilers can supply the steam needed until the plant is completed.
Still, the longer reliance on boilers pushes back savings in heat production costs and gains in energy efficiency. When it approved the project in 2024, the government estimated that cogeneration would cut heat production costs by about 15% and energy consumption by 26% compared with standalone boilers, while lowering SK hynix's production costs by as much as 150 billion won ($105 million) a year.
The turbine shortage is deepening as AI drives up electricity demand. Global orders for power-generation gas turbines jumped more than 70% to 133 gigawatts last year from 78 gigawatts in 2024, according to the International Energy Agency. Orders for gas-fired plants have piled up as AI data centers and similar facilities require round-the-clock, stable power.
Supply has not kept pace. A small number of companies, including GE Vernova, Siemens Energy and Mitsubishi Power, dominate the market for large gas turbines, making it difficult to ramp up output quickly or find alternative suppliers. Most observers expect the shortage to persist, as power demand from AI data centers and advanced industries is projected to keep rising.
"Competition to secure manufacturing slots for gas turbines has intensified as demand has concentrated worldwide," said Yoo Seung-hoon, a professor of future energy convergence at Seoul National University of Science and Technology. "The government also needs to support domestic developers in securing the manufacturing slots they need through cooperation between countries."
The Yongin case is likely to pose similar challenges for the Honam semiconductor cluster. The government plans to expand generation capacity at the Honam cluster, where the first fab is targeted for completion in 2029, using renewable energy, energy storage systems, cogeneration and LNG-fired power. Samsung Electronics has asked the government to pursue LNG cogeneration to ensure a stable energy supply.
"Plant construction and energy infrastructure need to be managed on a single timeline," a semiconductor industry official said. "To avoid repeating the equipment procurement risk exposed at Yongin, securing long-lead-time facilities such as gas turbines should proceed in parallel from the earliest stage of a project."