Identifier
Created
Classification
Origin
06SEOUL1396
2006-04-26 08:01:00
UNCLASSIFIED
Embassy Seoul
Cable title:  

SOUTH KOREA'S NUCLEAR POWER PROGRAM: STATUS

Tags:  TRGY ENRG KNNP KSCA SENV KS 
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VZCZCXYZ0017
RR RUEHWEB

DE RUEHUL #1396/01 1160801
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
R 260801Z APR 06
FM AMEMBASSY SEOUL
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 7546
INFO RHEHAAA/WHITE HOUSE WASHDC
RUCPDOC/DEPT OF COMMERCE WASHDC 1421
RHEBAAA/DEPT OF ENERGY WASHDC
RUEHBJ/AMEMBASSY BEIJING 0549
RUEHFR/AMEMBASSY PARIS 1492
RUEHKO/AMEMBASSY TOKYO 0629
RUEHVI/AMEMBASSY VIENNA 0168
UNCLAS SEOUL 001396 

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SIPDIS

DEPT FOR ISN - SEMMEL
DEPT ALSO FOR ISN/NESS, EAP/K
WHITEHOUSE FOR OSTP
USDOC FOR 4440/IEP/EAP/OPB/WGOLIKE
USDOC ALSO FOR ITA/TA
USDOC ALSO NIST FOR SCARPENTER
USDOE FOR INTERNATIONAL - R.PRICE
DEPT PASS TO NRC FOR INTL PROGRAMS
PARIS FOR USOECD/ENERGY ADVISOR
USMISSION VIENNA FOR IAEA DEL

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: TRGY ENRG KNNP KSCA SENV KS
SUBJECT: SOUTH KOREA'S NUCLEAR POWER PROGRAM: STATUS
AND PROSPECTS

SUMMARY
-------

UNCLAS SEOUL 001396

SIPDIS

SIPDIS

DEPT FOR ISN - SEMMEL
DEPT ALSO FOR ISN/NESS, EAP/K
WHITEHOUSE FOR OSTP
USDOC FOR 4440/IEP/EAP/OPB/WGOLIKE
USDOC ALSO FOR ITA/TA
USDOC ALSO NIST FOR SCARPENTER
USDOE FOR INTERNATIONAL - R.PRICE
DEPT PASS TO NRC FOR INTL PROGRAMS
PARIS FOR USOECD/ENERGY ADVISOR
USMISSION VIENNA FOR IAEA DEL

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: TRGY ENRG KNNP KSCA SENV KS
SUBJECT: SOUTH KOREA'S NUCLEAR POWER PROGRAM: STATUS
AND PROSPECTS

SUMMARY
--------------


1. This year marks the 50th anniversary of U.S.-Korea
cooperation in the field of civilian nuclear energy,
begun with the signing in 1956 of the bilateral
Agreement for Cooperation on Civil Uses of Nuclear
Energy. This fact will be commemorated during the 27th
meeting of the Joint Standing Committee on Nuclear
Energy Cooperation (JSCNEC) on May 1-4.


2. Korea's first commercial nuclear power reactor went
into operation only in 1978, but in the intervening 28
years, Korea has risen to become the world's sixth-
largest producer of nuclear power, with more than 40
percent of its electricity being supplied by 20 nuclear
power plants. Korea is one of the few countries in the
world committed to substantial nuclear power
development in this decade, and plans to build eight
new power plants over the next 10 years. This
construction activity will ensure than Korean companies
such as Doosan Heavy Industries are well-positioned to
prosper if the global nuclear market sees a resurgence
in coming years.


3. Despite its successes, Korea's nuclear energy
program faces continuing challenges, including finding
a solution to the problem of high-level radioactive
waste disposal and public resistance. This message
provides an overview of the status and prospects of the
Korean nuclear power sector. End Summary.

FORUM LOOKS AT NUCLEAR POWER SECTOR
--------------


4. The Korea Atomic Industrial Forum (KAIF) and the
Korea Nuclear Society (KNS) hosted their 21st joint
Annual Conference in Seoul April 20-21. The theme was
"Sustainable Development of Nuclear Energy: Current
Issues and Challenges." The conference drew more than
400 atomic energy specialists and scientists from South
Korea and 100 from abroad, including the United States,
Canada, France, Germany, Japan, and Vietnam.



5. In his keynote address, Korea Hydro and Nuclear
Power Company (KHNP) President Lee Joong-jae reviewed
the "Current Status and Future Prospects of Nuclear
Industry in South Korea." He cautiously opined that a
global nuclear renaissance is coming, prompted by
concern over global warming and by the rising price of
oil.


6. Lee stated that the Korean nuclear industry, like
those of other advanced nuclear countries, still faces
significant challenges, including NGO opposition to
expanding nuclear power, concerns about safety and
security issues, public opposition to the siting of
nuclear facilities, and the cost of nuclear power
relative to other energy sources.

NUCLEAR POWER OPERATION AND PERFORMANCE
--------------


7. Korea's nuclear program began modestly, with
groundbreaking in 1959 for the construction of a TRIGA
Mark II research reactor partially funded by the U.S.
Atomic Energy Commission. Since the first nuclear
power plant was inaugurated in 1978 at Kori, the Korea
Hydro and Nuclear Power Company (spun off in 2001 from
the Korea Electric Power Corporation) has achieved a
steady growth in nuclear power production. At present,
South Korea has 20 operating nuclear power plants
throughout the country. It also has four plants under
construction, two units each at the Shin-Kori and Shin-

Wolsong plant sites. The four new plants will be an
upgraded version of the 1,000 MWe pressurized water
reactors already in service.


8. Table 1 below outlines the status of electric power
generated in Korea by energy source. Power generation
from nuclear reactors in 2005 reached 146,779 gigawatt
hours (GWh),with a total installed capacity of 17,716
MWe. The 20 operating nuclear plants account for 28.5
percent of the nation's total electric generating
capacity, but actually produce more than 40 percent of
Korea's total electricity output. At present, South
Korea is the world's sixth-largest producer of nuclear
power.

Table 1: Status of Electric Power by Energy Source
As of yearend 2005
-------------- --------------
Energy Source Installed Electricity
Capacity (MWe) Generation (GWh)
-------------- --------------
Nuclear 17,716 (28.5 pct) 146,779 (40.3 pct)
Coal 17,965 (28.9 pct) 133,657 (36.6 pct)
Gas 16,552 (26.6 pct) 58,250 (16.0 pct)
Oil 4,605 (7.4 pct) 17,883 (4.8 pct)
Hydro 3,885 (6.2 pct) 5,153 (1.4 pct)
Others 1,537 (2.5 pct) 3,349 (0.9 pct)
-------------- --------------
Total 62,260 (100 pct) 364,571 (100 pct)
-------------- --------------


9. One of KHNP's notable achievements has been to
improve the performance of its nuclear power plants.
For example, in 2005 the average capacity factor of
Korean nuclear power plants was 95.5 percent, compared
to the world average of 79.3 percent. According to a
recent edition of "Nucleonics Week," Kori reactor unit
4 ranked first place in capacity utilization in 2005,
followed by Yonggwang unit 1 and 3, Ulchin unit 1, and
Wolsong unit 3. These five Korean plants topped the
list of the world's 50 best plants in terms of capacity
factors.


10. KHNP also achieved remarkable progress in reducing
the average unplanned plant shutdown rate over the
previous ten years, from 1.1 cases in 1995 to 0.5 cases
in 2005.


11. Korea's nuclear power plants (NPPs) are of roughly
four different designs, depending upon the supplier of
the nuclear steam supply system (NSSS). The first four
Kori NPPs and the four Yonggwang NPPs are pressurized
light water reactors (PWRs) based on the technology of
the U.S.-based company Westinghouse. The first two
Ulchin plants are PWRs with the NSSS components
supplied by the French firm Framatome (now Areva). All
of the four Wolsong NPPs are Canada Deuterium Uranium
pressurized heavy water reactors (CANDU-PHWRs) based on
upon technology of the Canadian company AECL. The
remaining plants are PWRs, called the Korean Standard
Nuclear Power Plant (KSNP),based on technology of U.S.-
based Combustion Engineering (later bought by
Westinghouse).


12. Table 2 shows the current status of nuclear power
plants at each site, with the number of operating
reactors and their installed capacity in parentheses.

Table 2: Status of Nuclear Power Plants (NPPs)
(Unit: Megawatts)
--------------
Reactor Site In Operation
--------------
Kori 4 (3,137)

Wolsong 4 (2,739)
Yonggwang 6 (5,900)
Ulchin 6 (5,900)
--------------
Total 20 (17,716)
--------------

NUCLEAR POWER CONSTRUCTION AND PLANNING
--------------


13. As shown in Table 3 below, Korea has plans to
build eight new nuclear power plants (NPPs) over the
next 10 years. Of the planned eight reactors, KHNP has
already obtained construction permits for Shin-Kori 1&2
and Shin-Wolsong 1&2 (Shin means new -- the sites are
adjacent to the existing Kori and Wolsong sites). All
of the four reactor types are 1,000-MWe PWRs.


14. Groundbreaking for construction of Shin-Kori 1 and
2 was held in October 2005, and they are scheduled for
completion in 2010 and 2011, respectively.
Groundbreaking for Shin-Wolsong 1 and 2 will occur in
July this year, aiming at commercial operation in 2011
and 2012, respectively.


15. The remaining four advanced light water reactors
(1,400 MWe-class ALWRs, also called the APR1400),are
still on the drawing table, but are projected to be
built at Shin-Kori and Shin-Ulchin (two units at each
site) by 2014 and 2016, respectively. KHNP expects to
have the main contract concluded within this year.

Table 3: NPPs under Construction and Planned
-------------- --------------
Project Reactor Capacity Plant Commercial
Type (MW) Type Operation
-------------- --------------
Shin- No.1 PWR 1,000 OPR1000 2010
Kori 2 PWR 1,000 OPR1000 2011
3 ALWR 1,400 APR1400 2013
4 ALWR 1,400 APR1400 2014

Shin- 1 PWR 1,000 OPR1000 2011
Wolsong 2 PWR 1,000 OPR1000 2012

Shin- 5 ALWR 1,400 APR1400 2015
Ulchin 6 ALWR 1,400 APR1400 2016
-------------- --------------
Note: PWR: Pressurized Water Reactor
ALWR: Advanced Light Water Reactor
OPR: Optimized Power Reactor
APR: Advanced Power Reactor

RADIOACTIVE WASTE REPOSITORY CONSTRUCTION
--------------


16. After 19 years of stymied efforts, the Korean
government finally selected a site for the nation's
first centralized radioactive waste repository (for low
and intermediate-level nuclear waste only) in March

2005. The choice was confirmed by a referendum among
local residents, despite opposition by anti-nuclear
activists, after promises of large-scale development
funding for the winning jurisdiction.


17. KHNP, responsible for managing the nation's
radioactive waste, will build the facility on two
million square meters located in Gyeongju, near the
Shin-Wolsong site. In the initial stage, a 100,000-
drum capacity facility is to be completed by the end of

2009. It will eventually be expanded to store 800,000
drums of radioactive waste.

CONTINUING INVESTMENT IN R&D

--------------


18. Lee asserted that Korea will continue to increase
its R&D spending on priority projects such as the
system-integrated modular advanced reactor (SMART)
program, development of the next-generation nuclear
power reactor (working with international partners in
the Generation IV Nuclear Forum),and hydrogen
production using nuclear energy. The SMART reactor,
designed for both electricity generation and seawater
desalination, is expected to be commercialized from
2009, if everything goes as planned.

LOOKING FOR OVERSEAS MARKETS
--------------


19. As a company with substantial experience in
building and operating nuclear power plants, Lee said,
KHNP is willing to cooperate with other countries in
training foreign specialists. KHNP also hopes to
advance into niche markets overseas in nuclear power
operation and maintenance.

CLEAN ENERGY, BUT CHALLENGES STILL TO BE OVERCOME
-------------- --------------


20. Lee underlined the clean nature of nuclear power,
asserting that a 1,000 MW capacity nuclear power unit
produces 7.5 million fewer tons of carbon dioxide each
year than a thermal power plant using coal. In 2005,
nuclear generation in Korea reached about 147 billion
kilowatts hour (KWh). If this much energy had been
generated with coal, 140 million tons of additional
carbon dioxide would have been emitted, Lee said.


21. Nonetheless, Lee stated that Korea, like other
advanced nuclear countries, faces a variety of
challenges, including NGO opposition to expanding
nuclear power, issues of safety and security, local
opposition to the siting of nuclear facilities,
competition from other energy sources, and the
development of nuclear scientists and specialists.

ENHANCING PUBLIC ACCEPTANCE OF NUCLEAR POWER
--------------


22. In an attempt to generate a stronger social
consensus, the Korean government plans to launch a new
high-level policymaking body, to be dubbed the State
Energy Commission, in September 2006. The State Energy
Commission, chaired by the President and including
various Cabinet ministers among its 25 members, will be
charged with formulating a 20-year basic energy plan
aimed at promoting stable energy supplies. One of the
issues it will address is the treatment of high-level
radioactive waste, left out of the Gyeongju plan in
order to assure public acceptance. The formation of
the commission is linked to the implementation of the
Basic Act on Energy that will take effect in September
this year.

COMMENT
--------------


23. If Lee's cautious prediction of a global nuclear
renaissance proves correct, Korea will be well-placed
to benefit. The steady construction of new plants in
Korea has given Korean manufacturers such as Doosan
Heavy Industries a depth of current expertise and
manufacturing capacity that is matched in few other
places around the world. End Comment.

VERSHBOW