Power connections and construction concerns
Merchants near a 50 MW data center planned for Incheon's North Port commercial district have raised concerns about high-voltage power connections, heat discharge from cooling facilities and fire safety.
With concerns ranging from possible road excavation around commercial premises to noise and changes in business conditions after the facility starts operating, they are calling on the developer to disclose specific measures to prevent harm.
According to the North Port Merchants Association and others on October 31, the data center proposed for the area around 381-73 Wonchang-dong, Incheon, would have 11 above-ground floors and require substantial electricity supply and cooling facilities.
In an interview with Incheon News, North Port Merchants Association chair Park Yong-jin expressed concern not only about safety issues associated with the data center's construction but also about the possibility of additional business disruption in the already struggling North Port commercial district.
Park said the North Port commercial district had long been neglected by local administration and argued that the data center issue should prompt a review of local urban planning and commercial conditions.
One issue attracting the association's attention is the installation of high-voltage power lines to supply large amounts of electricity.
Consultation materials prepared by Korea Electric Power Corporation on July 19, 2023, state that a 50 MW electricity supply is possible from Wonchang Substation through a 154 kV, or 154,000 V, power system. They also include review findings indicating that both a main electricity supply circuit and a backup circuit could be secured.
However, the materials confirmed so far do not make it possible to determine the route of the power lines from Wonchang Substation to the data center, whether existing conduits would be used or whether road excavation would be required.
The association is concerned about possible construction noise, vibration and restrictions on vehicle access if the power lines pass along roads near commercial premises. It says prolonged roadworks could also affect access for customers visiting restaurants and accommodation facilities.
The safety of electromagnetic fields generated by high-voltage power lines is also identified as requiring verification. However, voltage alone cannot determine human exposure levels or whether harm would occur; the actual installation method, distances and measurements must be checked.
Cooling facilities and fire safety
The potential effect of the data center's cooling facilities on the surrounding commercial district is another area of interest.
Cooling equipment must operate continuously to remove heat generated by servers. Depending on the cooling method, discharge outlet locations and equipment scale, it could affect surrounding noise levels or thermal conditions.
In particular, because commercial facilities including accommodation and restaurants are located near the proposed data center site, there are calls to check the direction of heat discharge and noise reduction measures in advance.
Studies in South Korea and abroad are examining how data center waste heat affects surrounding thermal conditions. However, findings from other areas cannot be applied directly to North Port. The North Port data center's cooling method, discharge facility locations and findings from impact analyses for adjacent buildings have not yet been confirmed.
Fire safety is another main area in which the association is requesting verification.
Data centers use uninterruptible power supply (UPS) systems and emergency power facilities to keep servers operating during outages. Because fire prevention and response methods vary with the configuration of batteries and electrical equipment, detailed equipment plans need to be checked.
It has been confirmed that requests for improvements relating to firefighting and evacuation, including fire compartmentation in the underground parking area and equipment rooms and distances to evacuation stairs, were raised during consultations on design changes for the data center in 2026.
However, these were requests for improvements raised during the permitting review. Further confirmation is needed on how they were reflected in the final approval process.
Business disruption and requests for disclosure
Potential harm to the commercial district during construction is another concern for merchants.
There are concerns that construction vehicle traffic, noise and dust, and changes to access routes could affect businesses adjacent to the project site. The association's position is that construction plans and measures to prevent business losses should be prepared to minimize such disruption.
Park described the North Port commercial district as already struggling and claimed that merchants had also experienced difficulties with matters including the operation of the existing public parking lot.
Park specifically raised the issue of caravans occupying a substantial portion of the public parking lot, although actual occupancy requires separate confirmation.
The association believes the data center construction issue should not be confined to a permitting dispute over an individual facility, but should prompt a broader review of living conditions and urban planning in the North Port commercial district.
Park said there were plans to address the issues with Seohae District Council members and during an administrative audit to explore solutions. The intention is for the council to also examine the problems facing the North Port commercial district.
Neither actual environmental harm from the data center nor illegality in the permitting process has been confirmed so far.
However, the association's position is that the power connection route, cooling facility operating plans and fire response arrangements should be verified and relevant information disclosed in advance, rather than waiting for problems to arise after the large facility begins operating.
Incheon News plans to publish follow-up reporting after further checking the power connection and safety management plans of the data center's developer, Cheongna IDC PFV, and the permitting review process handled by Seohae District's architecture department.
Original Korean article: incheonnews.com
English brief by Korea Wind Intelligence, koreawindintel.com
