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The first overseas nuclear project was launched in May 1993 when we provided technological support for the operation and maintenance of the GuangZhou nuclear power plant in China. Our first overseas projects were promoted to respond to the Korean government’s globalization strategies, as well as to the opening and privatization of world power markets, and to utilize the rich experience and accumulated technologies of the Korean nuclear power plant industry. Due to the tightening of regulations governing CO2 emissions since 2000 in response to the global warming crisis, increased energy prices resulting from factors such as the spike in oil prices, and the phenomenon of resource nationalism, many countries are now considering the use of nuclear power as a main energy source for the next generation. As of 2007, 439 nuclear power plants are in operation worldwide, a number that is expected to increase to 700 by 2030. As such, it can be said that we are entering Nuclear Renaissance. In light of the fact that a slowdown in the power demand growth rate is anticipated domestically, overseas nuclear power plant projects are actively being promoted in order to secure a competitive edge through the continued growth of the nuclear power plant industry and the improvement of technologies, and to utilize the accumulated cutting-edge technologies held by domestic nuclear power plant providers by commercializing them.
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With 20 nuclear power plants and a world-class level of skill in their construction and operation, Korea is the world’s sixth country with the most nuclear power plants. By far, Korea has constructed and is operating OPR1000 (OPR: Optimized Power Reactor), the 1,000MW-level Korean standard nuclear power plant. Based on this model, Korea has also secured a nuclear power plant model that is more competitive in terms of its technologies and its economic feasibility than the reactor types of any other overseas competitors by developing APR1400 (APR: Advanced Power Reactor), the 1,400MW-level third generation reactor that is able to withstand an earthquake with a magnitude of 7.0 on the Richter scale. By constructing and operating the Wolsong nuclear power plant, Korea has also proven its ability to design, manufacture, construct, start, and operate a 700MW-level heavy water reactor nuclear power plant.
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Since Korea signed a two million dollar contract with China in 1993 to provide technical support for the first stage of operation and maintenance of the GuangZhou nuclear power plant, it has signed a total of 39 contracts with overseas clients, worth 75.91 million dollars in total, including the Chinese unit technology service project, technical support for Rumania and Canada, the Nepalese Chamelia hydro power project, and more. In April 2009, KHNP (Korea Hydro & Nuclear Power Co., Ltd.) received the order for the electric generation construction of the Nepalese Chamelia hydro power plant, KHNP’s first plant project. In December 2009, it received the order for the UAE nuclear power plant project (four APR1400 units worth 40 billion dollars), its first export of nuclear power plants, led by KEPCO (Korea Electric Power Corporation) consortium.
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Since KHNP made its first export of Korean standard nuclear power plants to the UAE in December 2009, it has been pushing ahead with the export of nuclear power plants to Turkey, India, and Jordan, as inter-governmental cooperative projects. It is also expected to win additional orders, as it is actively pushing ahead with a technology-oriented project for the resumption of Rumania’s Cernavoda Units 3 and 4, as well as the Finnish nuclear power plant project.
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