Ammon News - AMMONNEWS - In recent years, Korea has made a name for herself internationally through her strong presence in the semiconductor, home appliance, automobile and mobile technology sectors. Around the world, brands like Samsung, LG and Hyundai have become household names and their products rival or in many cases outperform those of their more long-established competitors. The rapid development of Korea’s industrial footprint has matched the country’s unprecedented growth. Korea has evolved from being one of the world’s poorest nations roughly six decades ago to becoming the 15th largest economy on a nominal GDP basis, the world’s sixth largest exporter and tenth largest importer as of 2010.

Facing increasingly stiff global competition in the aforementioned industries, Korea has set out to nurture other sectors as growth engines among which nuclear power generation is included. The push to foster nuclear power – with the ultimate goal of exporting Korean nuclear reactors to meet the world’s pressing demand for energy – has resulted in several major accomplishments in recent years, the most significant of which was a consortium led by the Korea Electric Power Corporation(KEPCO) being awarded a US$20 billion project to construct four nuclear power plant units in the United Arab Emirates in 2009.

With pre-Fukushima predictions calling for the construction of over 400 new nuclear power plants by 2030, Korea has her eye set on claiming a bigger piece of the nuclear pie, which at present is only divisible by five – the number of countries which have successfully exported a nuclear power plant. Of course, although time will tell what the long-term effects of the recent accident in Japan will have on the future of the nuclear power industry, the energy needs of the world’s developing and developed countries are not disappearing anytime soon. What is certain, however, is that Korea is currently involved in the construction of seven nuclear power plants domestically and four units overseas, thus attracting the attention of the global community.

KOREA’S ENTRY INTO NUCLEAR POWER

Although Korea only recently succeeded in exporting her first nuclear power plants, one should not assume that the country is new to the nuclear game. A member of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) since 1957, domestic operation of nuclear power plants goes back to 1978 when Korea’s first plant – Kori 1 – came online. As of today, a total of 21 nuclear power plants have been built around the country, the sum of which provide Korea with 18,716MW of power accounting for nearly 23.9 percent of her total energy capacity and 31 percent of total electricity consumption. The Korea government expects this number to increase to 60 percent by 2035, with the additional nuclear reactors currently under construction and 10 more in the pipeline destined to make this possible.

Following the start of commercial operation at Kori 1, eight more reactors were under construction by the early 1980s. Korea’s early pressurized water reactors(PWRs) were based on Westinghouse, AECLand Framatome technology while later, the country succeeded in seeing its Korean Standard Nuclear Power Plant (KSNP) become a recognized design.

It should be pointed out that Korea’s continued pursuit of nuclear energy at this time was unique in that a basic moratorium on additional construction of nuclear power plants followed the March 28, 1979 accident and meltdown which took place at Pennsylvania’s Three Mile Island power plant. As an illustration, the number of reactors under construction in the United States declined every year from 1980-1998, while during the period of 1980-1984, 51 orders for American nuclear reactors were cancelled outright. Korea’s drive to become a nuclear powerhouse was neither halted nor even slowed following the Chernobyl accident of 1986, a tragic event after which all new-build nuclear power plant projects in Europe and the United States were ceased.

By 2005 in Korea, however, a total of 20 nuclear power plants had gone online and the nation had no notion of stopping there. By 2009, the capacity factor for Korean reactors stood at 91 percent, the world’s highest, a level at which they remain today. At the time, the global average was a mere 76 percent. Further evidence of the capability of the Korean nuclear power machine was the country’s three-year average unplanned capability loss of 0.6 for the years 2007-2009. As of end-2009, the global average was 5.4 percent according to the IAEA.

Construction of the first two of Korea’s home-grown Generation III APR1400 reactors – Shin Kori 3 & 4 – was authorized the following year, with the first concrete on Unit 3 being poured in October 2008. It is the APR1400 which was selected by the UAE to serve as the basis of the Emirates’ budding nuclear energy program. When completed in 2013 and 2014, respectively, Shin Kori Units 3 & 4 will serve as the reference plant for the reactors under construction in the UAE. The Shin Ulchin 1 & 2 reactors, authorized byt eh government for construction in April 2009, are expected to be completed by 2016.

PROVEN TECHNOLOGY OF KOREAN REACTORS

The APR1400 currently being marketed for export by KEPCO has had added to its design significant enhancements in regard to safety as well as increased power capabilities. Based upon the predecessor OPR1000 and Korea’s experience gained over the country’s non-stop development of nuclear reactors, the upgraded APR1400 was designed to utilize the proven technology of the earlier model while offering more in terms of safety, performance, construction period, operation and of course, economics. By adopting advanced design features based on self-reliant technologies as well as on the technologies of the System 80+, whose design was certified by the Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Korea developed the APR1400 to meet the Korean Utility Requirement Document(KURD) reflecting the advanced light water reactor(ALWR) design requirements developed byt eh Electric Power Research Institute(EPRI), and other nuclear power related bodies. The lifespan of th eAPR1400 reactor was also increased to 60 years, 20 years longer than its OPR1000 predecessor, a reactor which was developed as an integral part of Korea’s nuclear power plant standardization program begun in 1984. Ulchin Unit 3 was the first OPR1000 to go into operation in 1998, three years after Korean nuclear power plants had reached a level of 95 percent indigenous technology.

ONE KEPCO – A ROBUST NUCLEAR POWER SUPPLY CHAIN

Korea’s push to develop nuclear power as a significant provider of the nation’s energy resulted from a strong desire to wean herself from reliance on energy imports – which currently stand at 97 percent – and by considerations of energy security The organization on which this responsibility primarily falls is KEPCO. Korea’s largest government-invested company (51 percent share), KEPCO along with its 5 nuclear energy generation subsidiaries, plays a key role in promoting the status of Korean engineering, manufacturing, construction, operation and maintenance in the nuclear sector. With majority shares – if not outright ownership – in the five nuclear subsidiaries, KEPCO is able to present a united front which is capable of undertaking every aspect of the lifespan of the nuclear power plant: from design and development all the way through to decommissioning. In addition to its subsidiaries and the company’s core competencies, KEPCO also benefits from the contribution of over 1,300 business process outsourcing(BPO) vendors.

More specifically, the subsidiaries include Korea Hydro & Nuclear Power Co.(KHNP), the KEPCO wholly-owned subsidiary which owns and operates Korea’s 21 nuclear power plants along with 27 hydro-electric power plants. Services provided by KHNP – ranked 3rd globally in nuclear power plant capacity – range from feasibility studies and technical assistance on plant design modification and improvement to overseas operation of Korean nuclear power plants. KHNP employs roughly 7,600 employees The second subsidiary, KEPCO Engineering & Consulting(E&C), was established in 1975 and focuses on reactor technology and design as well as technology support for the nuclear power plants in operation. KEPCO E&C, with over 4,000 employees in total of which 1,800 are involved in the company’s nuclear business, has also made active inroads overseas with system design and engineering services projects in the United States, the UAE and elsewhere around the world.

KEPCO Nuclear Fuel Co., Ltd.(KEPCO NF) has been the supplier of fuel and related services to Korea’s nuclear power plants since 1989. The company specializes in fuel engineering, design and fabrication of both PWR and CANDU fuel assemblies and fuel repair and examination. KEPCO NF was awarded the contract to supply fuel to the 4 APR-1400 units set to be built in the UAE. The business activities of KEPCO Plant Service & Engineering Co., Ltd.(KEPCO KPS) cover the full range of plant maintenance. Not limited solely to nuclear power plants, the scope of KEPCO KPS commission and routine maintenance services includes 80 percent of Korea’s thermal and gas power plants.

As an aside, in regard to achieving as high a level of self-sufficiency for uranium as possible, in recent years, KEPCO has ventured into uranium resources development projects, primarily in Canada. At the present time, KEPCO is involved in two Canadian uranium exploration projects: the Cree East project (July 2007-April 2011) and the Waterbury Lake project (January 2008-April 2010). KEPCO acquired a 17.07-percent stake in Denison Mines in 2009, securing 300 tons of uranium a year. Outside Canada, KEPCO bought a 10-percent stake from French Areva NCE in the Imouraren mine in Niger, West Africa. The mine will provide KEPCO with 740 tonnes of uranium every year.

KEPCO’s “One KEPCO” comprehensive nuclear power solution would not be complete without the participation of private sector representatives, as well. Domestic construction companies including but not limited to Samsung Engineering & Construction, Hyundai Engineering & Construction, Daelim, SK Engineering & Construction, Dong-A Construction, Doosan Heavy Industries & Construction, GS Construction and Daewoo Engineering & Construction are vital to Korea’s ability to construct the most advanced nuclear reactors in a competitively short period of time. Furthermore, the main contractor for the primary component of a nuclear power plant – the nuclear steam supply system(NSSS) – is none other than Doosan Heavy Industries & Construction, a company which has established itself as a leading supplier of nuclear power components for both the domestic and global markets by applying its know-how to cover NSSS production, design, testing construction and relevant services. In total, the One DEPCO team stands at roughly 20,000 employees, primarily concentrated in the areas of equipment design and manufacturing, maintenance and repair, and operations.

The One KEPCO team would be complete without the invaluable participation of several major global players in the nuclear industry with whom KEPCO has entered into strategic partnership agreements. They include Westinghouse of the United States, Toshiba from Japan, along with other global enterprises which take part in KEPCO overseas projects.

In addition to One KEPCO, it goes without saying that the success of any nuclear power plant export is the participation of capable and qualified local companies as well. KEPCO highly encourages local companies to bring a nuclear power plant online. From the first stage of technology accumulation, companies from the country in which the plant is being built can participate in the construction and design of the plant. Equipment manufacturing and operation and maintenance are additional ways in which local entities can play a role, eventually contributing to the host country becoming a more self-reliant nuclear player in its own right.

KEPCO’S INTERNATIONAL EXPERIENCE

The efforts made over three decades to develop Korea’s domestic nuclear power industry have culminated in two international projects to date. The first was the KEDO project in North Korea while the second was KEPCO being awarded the project to build 4 nuclear power plant units in the United Arab Emirates in December 2009.

The origins of the KEDO project can be traced back to a 1994 agreement between the United States and the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea(DPRK) under which the DPRK agreed to freeze and ultimately dismantle its nuclear program, the United States agreed to finance and construct two light-water reactors of the Korean Standard Nuclear Power Plant model.

Although racked with issues and disputes which led to the project being ultimately abandoned, the decade-long project offered KEPCO valuable experience in the process of seeing a nuclear power plant project through including how to negotiate with energy powerhouses such as the United States and Japan.

In regard to the winning UAE bid, one of the most important aspects of the UAE requirements was to verify that the APR1400 reactor represented third-generation nuclear technology. The KEPCO team verified that the APR1400 met the international technology standards of the United States, and had obtained design certification from the Korean nuclear watchdog in 2002. The differentiation report emphasized that the KEPCO team could deliver the power plant on time with KEPCO as the prime contractor and that the Korean government would provide full support to build a Middle East nuclear hub in the UAE.

The UAE project made Korea only the fifth nation to export a nuclear power plant, following the United States, France, Russia and Canada.

NURTURING FUTURE NUCLEAR EXPERTS THROUGH EDUCATION

In addition to the nuclear energy solutions offered by KEPCO, the company has also taken active strides toward establishing programs and facilities which will help to satisfy the increasing demand for expertise in the nuclear sector. Although the accident at Fukushima will put a damper on certain countries’ nuclear ambitions, predictions by the World Nuclear Association(WNA) prior to the accident expected hundreds of additional nuclear power plant units to be in operation by 2030, above and beyond the 441 currently in operation in 30 countries around the world.

To this end, KEPCO and organizations in Korea affiliated with the nuclear industry provide a variety of educational programs for both domestic and international personnel Such training is part of KEPCO’s drive to provide training in areas which cover the entire operation of a nuclear power plant. From instruction related to the pre-project stage through to construction, commissioning and operation and maintenance, KEPCO and nuclear power-affiliated organizations in Korea offer a full range of education.

The Korea Atomic Energy Research Institute(KAERI), the Korea Institute of Nuclear Safety(KINS), KEPCO subsidiary KHNP and the Korea Plant Service and Engineering Co. offer courses throughout the year on topics ranging from global trends and policies, reactor technology and accident management to quality assurance, public acceptance and project financing. Other courses cover more technical aspects of a nuclear power plant, among which include atomic energy laws and regulations, project management and start-up tests during the commissioning phase. In addition to academic offerings, site visits are arranged to Korea’s power plants and related facilities and companies. In August 2009, a vote was taken among the leaders of relevant nuclear power organizations in Korea to establish a nuclear power graduate school which would be designated as the KEPCO International Nuclear Graduate School or KEPCO-INGS. Currently under construction on a site located within the Kori nuclear power plant the facility, when completed, will have a total area of about 18,000㎡. The school is scheduled to be completed in September 2011, and plans to open in March 2012.

The impetus to establish such a facility was the winning bid to build a nuclear power plant in the UAE and subsequent need to foster engineers equipped with the right skills and training experience necessary in the industry. The school will admit 200 students (100 for each class, half of which will be Korean and the other half from overseas) and provide a two-year curriculum with all full-time classes taught in English and focused on industry-specific knowledge and skills. The school is expected to produce leaders in the atomic energy field through its nuclear Master’s Engineer course and technology doctorate curriculum, which is set to employ industrial project-based courses.

NON-STOP NUCLEAR PLANT DEVELOPMENT & LOCALIZATION STRATEGY

As the events following the Fukushima accident continue to unfold, the long-term effects on the health and global perceptions of the nuclear power industry remain to be seen. Despite the setback, however, the accident has served as a reminder of the importance of guaranteeing safety of both existing nuclear power plants and those yet to be built, and that changes must continue to be made to ensure that nuclear energy will remain a vital part of the global power grid.

The strides taken by Korea and KEPCO over the past 33 years since the country’s first nuclear power plant went operational to develop technology which allows the safe and reliable production and distribution of nuclear power have no reason to cease. A crisis provides a meaningful opportunity to re-evaluate existing systems and levels of preparedness and make changes if deemed necessary, which is exactly what Korea and KEPCO have done in recent months.

Korea’s nuclear technology, as proven by high levels of performance year after year and the successful export of the country’s technologically advanced APR1400 reactors to the UAE, is based on over three decades of non-stop development by a cohesive team called “One KEPCO.” In short, Korean nuclear power plant technology is proven technology. In this light, KEPCO is actively seeking additional opportunities to share its nuclear technology with countries in need of a reliable, economically feasible and safe energy option as a lifelong partner from the development of nuclear policies and regulations, feasibility studies, public consultations and technology evaluation, to financing, design, construction, commissioning, operations, maintenance, fuel and decommissioning.