Korea’s Kepco discussing nuclear project with Turkey

A Barakah nuclear power plant in the UAE, the first overseas nuclear project for Korea Electric Power Corporation [YONHAP]

 
Korea Electric Power Corporation (Kepco) is in discussions with the Turkish government about a 40 trillion won ($30.7 billion) nuclear power plant project.
 
Kepco spokesperson said on Thursday that the two parties will likely begin a feasibility study next year, after which they could sign an agreement to build four nuclear reactors, each capable of providing 1,400-megawatt of electricity, in the northern part of the country.    
 
Turkey initially contracted with Mitsubishi Shipbuilding to build the reactors in 2013, but the agreement fell apart due to differing views on pricing. The Turkish government contacted Kepco in April to explore a possible deal.  
 
The Turkish government decided in favor of Korea due to its experience of constructing nuclear plants in tough environmental conditions, like a desert, according to local media reports.  
 
The Barakah nuclear power plant in United Arab Emirates was built in Abu Dhabi’s far western desert in 2018. It is the first and only nuclear plant that Korea has built abroad.
 
The scale of the Turkish project is expected to be twice that of the UAE’s Barakah project, according to local media reports.  
 
New orders were few and far between after the wining of the Barakah project, especially during the Moon Jae-in administration, as the former president declared a phase-out of nuclear power.  
 
But as Yoon Suk-yeol government is emphasizing nuclear power, a new wave of potential nuclear contracts has emerged.  
 
In October, Korea was promised to be the sole bidder for the Patnow nuclear power plant in Poland.
 
The Patnow project is a small nuclear energy plant being built by a Polish energy company. The much larger state-backed Lubiatowo-Kopalino nuclear power plant was won by Westinghouse Electric of the U.S.  
 
Korean and Czech Republic companies signed a series of preliminary agreements related to nuclear and hydrogen power, and the governments of the two countries discussed cooperation in these areas, during the visit of Korean Minister of Trade, Industry and Energy Lee Chang-yang to Prague in June.
 
Korean companies are competing against U.S. and French companies for the contract to build Czech Republic’s first nuclear power plant, a 1,200-megawatt project in Dukovany estimated to cost over $6 billion.  
 
Korea is also targeting a project in Saudi Arabia.  
 
In 2018, Mohammed bin Salman announced Saudi’s nuclear power plant project as part of the kingdom’s ambitious goal of diversifying its energy mix and helping the global battle against climate change.  
 
Two nuclear reactors with 1.4 gigawatt capacities are expected to be built initially, which will gradually increase to 16 by 2040. Competing for the business are Korea, France, China and Russia. Riyadh invited them to make bids in June.
 

BY PARK EUN-JEE [[email protected]]