South Korea Pushes For Nuclear Expansion and Safety

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Researched by Industrial Info Resources (Kofu-shi, Japan)--With the massive nuclear plant order from the United Arab Emirates (UAE) securely under its belt, South Korea is casting its net wider. As Germany exits the nuclear market, South Korea will move up, falling directly behind the United States, France and Japan. However, Japan is also seeking to phase-out nuclear energy within the next forty years. By the end of the decade, South Korea will have an installed nuclear capacity of more than 27 gigawatts and one of the largest nuclear reactor-to-land area ratios in the world. By 2030, South Korea hopes to export as many as 80 reactors, boosting it beyond Japan.

Korea Hydro and Nuclear Power, a spin off of Korea Electric Power Corporation (NYSE:KEP) (KEPCO) (Seoul), is responsible for South Korea's nuclear energy industry. The company is dedicating resources to the improvement of the domestic sector while also looking abroad to other opportunities. Due to the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear accident in Japan, Korea Hydro and Nuclear plans to spend more than $5 billion on safety improvement for its reactors, a part of which will be invested into reactor development. This investment will help extend the lifespan of reactors from 60 years to 80 years. Korea Hydro and Nuclear currently operates 24 reactors at four domestic power stations with another seven on the books.

Other companies, including BKB Company Limited (Inchon, South Korea), are looking to invest in foreign nuclear energy endeavors as KEPCO has done. The construction company is leading a consortium in order to acquire a stake in EnergoNuclear SA (Bucharest, Romania), the company responsible for Romania's nuclear energy program. EnergoNuclear is also responsible the construction of Cernavoda nuclear power station's new units. China Nuclear Power Engineering Company Limited (Shenzhen, China) is also seeking a stake in EnergoNuclear.

Romania, like other countries such as Vietnam and Kazakhstan, plans to continue nuclear development despite trouble in Japan. These and others view nuclear energy as a vital factor in their respective energy futures. South Korea may also become involved in Kazakhstan's new nuclear power project as an extension of previous power agreements between the two countries.

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