Ulchin Unit 5 & 6 Boon to
Global Warming Issue
A ceremony dedicating Korea's 19th and 20th unit was held

Amid the looming specter of mounting global pressure over mandatory carbon dioxide emission reductions to fight global warming, the official dedication of the latest nuclear power units, Korea's 19th and 20th one, is good news to the national economy.
A ceremony for dedicating Ulchin Nuclear Power Plant Unit 5 & 6 was held at the nuclear complex in Ulchin, North Gyeongsang Province, on August 11 with about 400 dignitaries, including Minister of Commerce, Industry and Energy Lee Hee-beom, and residents participating.
The latest dedicated nuclear power units are a LWR-type one of the Korean Standard Nuclear Power (KSNP) design, capable of generating 1 million kW. The state project on the construction of the units cost 4.47 trillion won and mobilized a combined 8 million people, contributing to turning around the sagging economy and creating employment in the wake of the Asian financial crisis in the late 1997. The project was finished in six years after they broke ground in January 1999.
Unit 5 & 6 have a combined power generation capacity of 15.2 billion kWh per year, having an effect of saving an estimated 800 billion won in foreign currency payments and reducing some 12.8 million tons of greenhouse gases, compared to the production of the electricity using oil, helping Korea cope with the global pressure on climate change.
The latest nuclear units have beefed up safety by replaying Inconel-600 alloy with Inconel-690 alloy in the standard on the material of the steam generator, a core part of a nuclear power facility. Besides, application of the latest technologies and experiences from the operation of preceding nuclear units has improved convenience in operation and maintenance, leading to raising a possibility that Korea could enter the newly emerging nuclear markets, including China and Vietnam.
A total of 100 people from the nuclear industry, including Korea Hydro & Nuclear Power Plant Company (KHNP) President-CEO Lee Joong-jae, were awarded with diverse orders and other prizes in recognition of their meritorious contribution to the development of the nuclear power industry during the ceremony.
Lee was honored with the Order of Industrial Merit, Gold Tower.
In his congratulatory speech, MOCIE Minister Lee stressed the significance of securing energy resources, saying that how to secure a stable supply of energy has emerged as the most important issue in the wake of continuing crude oil price hikes and the entry of the Kyoto Protocol on climate change. He also called on the people from the nuclear power industry and the government to conduct a soul-searching on past activities and implement nuclear power projects the way they serve the public and local residents.
The operation of Ulchin Nuclear Power Plant Unit 5 & 6 has became a great boon to meet rising power consumption amid unabated crude oil price hikes.
Ulchin Nuclear Power Plant Unit 5 was put into commercial operation on July 27, 2004 about 10 years after a master plan on constructing the unit was finalized. Unit 6 was put into commercial operation in April 2005.
Korea Hydro & Nuclear Power Plant Company (KHNP took charge of the overall project management, while Korea Power Engineering Company Inc. was in charge of comprehensive design and systems design. The reactor and turbine generator were manufactured and supplied by Doosan Heavy Industries & Construction Co., and three construction companies - Dong Ah, Doosan and Samsung - jointly participated in constructing the Korea Standard Nuclear Plant (KSNP). Nuclear fuel was supplied by Korea Nuclear Fuel Co.
Operation and maintenance systems of the latest nuclear power units are digitalized in a bid to improve efficiency. The fuel loading cycle has changed from 12 months to 18 months, maximizing plant utilization.
Annual permissible radiation levels have been lowered in accordance with global trends from 50mSv to 20mSv for maintenance workers and from 5mSv to 2mSv fro the general public.
Welding cooling materials of the reactor has been completed in a record low of 205 days, with the lowest welding defect rate of 0.1 percent.
In a related development, Kori Nuclear Power Plant Unit 3 achieved a 473-day accident-free period last June 20, for the third straight time, KHNP said.
Kori Unit 3 has been in operation without accidents for three periods (14th through 16th period) or 1,445 days after it resumed its operation on Apr. 24, 2001, following a preventive maintenance. KHNP said the latest feat demonstrated its world-class operational capability once again.
Currently, Korea has 20 nuclear units in operation ? four in Kori Nuclear Power Plant, six in Yongkwang Nuclear Power Plant, 4 in Wolsong Nuclear Power Plant and six in Ulchin Nuclear Power Plant. Nuclear Power accounts for 40 percent of Korea? combined power generation. Nuclear power plants have ranked on top in terms of the operational rate, higher than global industry average.
Nuclear power plants?electricity generation is the cheapest option for a country without any other source of energy. Other alterative power sources are negligible in Korea, as generating power using wind is in an initial stage with the launch of projects to build a few wind power plants in Gangwon Province and other areas.
KHNP is reinforcing publicity activities to awaken the public with nuclear power plants' essential role in energy sources and environment-friendliness in connection with international climate agreements on curtailing the use of fossil fuels. Another stumbling block standing in the way of developing nuclear power industry is Korea?failure in securing a site for a permanent nuclear repository for spent fuel. nw

Dignitaries, including MOCIE Minister Lee Hee-beom and Korea Hydro & Nuclear Power Plant Company (KHNP) President-CEO Lee Joong-jae, attend a ceremony for dedicating Ulchin Nuclear Power Plant Unit 5 & 6.
MOCIE Minister Lee Hee-beom shakes hands with KHNP President-CEO Lee Joong-jae after conferring the Order of Industrial Merit, Gold Tower on the latter.
Ulchin Nuclear Power Plant Unit 5 & 6 are situated at the Ulchin NUclear Power Plant Complex.