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| Korea Hydro & Nuclear Power (KHNP) CEO Whang Joo-ho, second from left, meets with Industry and Trade Minister of the Czech Republic, Jozef Sikela, at the ministry in the Czech Republic, Sept. 19 (local time). Korea Times file |
By Lee Kyung-min
Korea has cost, quality and technological advantages over its U.S. and French peers when it comes to nuclear power plant construction, a reason why Korea Hydro & Nuclear Power (KHNP) CEO Whang Joo-ho remains confident about Korea's chance of winning in a three-way bidding war to build a nuclear reactor in the Czech Republic.
The Korea-U.S. alliance to cooperate in the nuclear energy business, he added, would not deteriorate, despite a legal dispute over claims of intellectual property rights violations by U.S. Westinghouse Electric Company against Korea.
The lifespan of a dozen old nuclear power plants will gradually be extended, a priority he considers critical to advancing the efficient and effective use of nuclear energy to underpin robust mutual growth with renewables.
"Korea undeniably has a number of competitive advantages to win the construction bid in the Czech Republic, as measured by objective global industry standards," Whang said during a meeting with a group of reporters in Sejong, Tuesday.
The state-run energy firm will provide all relevant data to the Czech Republic, to help the country decide after a thorough comparison of KHNP with Westinghouse and EDF, a state-owned French multinational electric utility firm.
"We will let them see for themselves how Korea's proposal has strength in cost, quality, technology and economic viability. We will let them choose," he said.
He was referring to the bid filed on Nov. 28 by KHNP with CEZ, a state-owned nuclear energy operator in the Czech Republic.
The East European country plans to build one light-water reactor to start commercial operations in 2036. The selection of a construction partner will be finalized in 2024. The construction will begin in 2029.
The ongoing legal dispute against Westinghouse will not undermine the Korea-U.S. energy alliance, in his view.
"The more the lawsuit of this sort drags on, the more waste it causes for both. The best way is to cooperate," he said.
Westinghouse maintains that KHNP and its parent firm Korea Electric Power Corp. (KEPCO) must obtain approvals from the U.S. company and the U.S. Department of Energy to export APR-1400 reactors, developed by Korea using key Westinghouse technologies.
However, Korea says the claims of intellectual property violations go against a license agreement between KEPCO and the U.S. firm signed in 1997, whereby Korea paid the U.S. firm a fee instead of seeking full autonomy in using the technology for business purposes.
