KHNP to expand overseas business

Korea Hydro & Nuclear Power Corp. is test running the Shin-Kori unit 3 reactor. / Courtesy of KHNP

By Yoon Ja-young

Cho Seok KHNP President and CEO

Korea Hydro and Nuclear Power Corp. (KHNP) plans to focus on expanding its business in the global nuclear energy market this year, its CEO said Wednesday.

“Korea’s nuclear power plant technology is highly evaluated in the global market. We have 24 nuclear reactors and we are at the world’s top level in terms of operation rate,” KHNP President and CEO Cho Seok told reporters.

“Among the nuclear power plants currently being constructed around the world, we are the only one with everything on time and within budget,” he added.

Korea has been making efforts to advance into nuclear power plant markets overseas, including countries in the Middle East, and Southeast Asia.

The state-owned company is currently building a nuclear power plant in the United Arab Emirates. It has completed 61.4 percent of the construction so far and the completion rate is scheduled to reach 79 percent at the end of the year. It recently successfully completed a cold hydrostatic test (CHT) on the first reactor, officially approving its overall capability. It is currently negotiating with the UAE on an operating support services agreement (OSSA) for the nuclear power plant.

Cho noted that nuclear power will come to play bigger role after the New Climate Regime, whereby countries have agreed to cut carbon emissions, comes into effect. Korea, which is the world’s eighth biggest emitter, is planning to reduce its emissions by 37 percent.

If a 1000MW nuclear power plant replaces one using coal, 6.1 million tons in gas emissions can be cut, according to KHNP.

Thanks to stable management, KHNP increased its electric power sales to 10.6 trillion won last year, with a 2.5 trillion won net profit. It plans to expand investment by 359.1 billion won this year, up from its original plan of 2.8 trillion won, to help pull up economic growth.

Renewable energy is another sector the company is eyeing, with around a 1 trillion won investment planned for the next four to five years.

Cho was elected to head the World Association of Nuclear Operators (WANO) last year. The company, which will be relocating its headquarters to Gyeongju, North Gyeongsang Province, is scheduled to hold WANO’s general meeting in the city next year. He hopes that it will be an opportunity to help globalization of the city as well as contributing to its development.