KHNP Seeks to Advance
Its Own Development
of Advanced Reactor by 2012

APR+ will be commercialized in 2022

Korea Hydro & Nuclear Power Co. (KHNP) is accelerating a bid to develop on its own advanced 1,500 megawatt electrical (MWe)-class nuclear reactor that can be exported abroad without any restrictions.
KHNP said the development of the Advanced Power Reactor (APR+) will be complete by 2012 three years earlier than planned and it will be put into commercial operation starting the year 2022. Ten nuclear units of the reactor will be built by 2030 according to the first national energy master plan, recently finalized by the National Energy Committee, a presidential energy panel.
Part of the mid-term outcome of the so-called Nu-Tech 2015 Project to localize nuclear technology and develop core and original technologies was made public at a session held at the Kumho Resort in Jeju on Sept. 4-5.
The detailed standard design of the APR+ will be submitted to the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) for approval after the local development of the reactor by 2012, If the standard design is approved,
Korea can export this type of reactor to the United States and Europe without getting any additional permits in the case there is a buyer.
A KHNP official said, "This reactor will be operated more safely and more economically than the third-generation APR1400. We aim at commercializing the reactor being built with our own technology by 2020."Core codes for nuclear design, a barometer of nuclear technology, will be secured as Korea's own core technology by 2012 in order to export reactors without any restrictions."Meanwhile, the first national energy master plan calls for raising the portion of nuclear power capacity from 26 percent in 2007 to 41 percent in 2030. The percentage of nuclear power supply will be pushed up to 59 percent of the nation's total power generation in 2030 from 36 percent in 2007.
Atomic power has been contributing to lessening Korea's dependence on fossil fuels and financial burden, stemming from the importation of energy resources, by supplying electricity at cheaper prices. In the past 25 years, consumer prices have soared 186 percent, whereas electricity charges increased only 11.4 percent.
Nuclear power has emerged as an alternative designed to cope with mandatory greenhouse gas emission reductions in the wake of pacts on climate change.
As efforts to expand nuclear power supply, the government plans to secure the world's top-class nuclear safety through safety checks and evaluations by international constitutions while seeking to construct nuclear units compatible with neighborhood communities in order to raise public acceptance of atomic power. The government is considering providing extensive support to neighborhood communities of nuclear unit sites. It plans to deal with issues of securing sites for the construction of new nuclear units and treating spent fuel in a democratic process and a transparent way of gathering public consensus. nw

KHNP President Kim Jon-shin