Korea Hydro & Nuclear Power

KHNP(Korea Hydro & Nuclear Power) provides about 30 per cent of South Korea's electricity supply, making it the nation's largest power generation company. It has a total installed capacity of more than 26,000MW from operating 24 nuclear power units, 35 hydropower units, 16 pumped-storage power units and a number of renewable energy facilities. KHNP is in the process of building four nuclear power plants (NPPs) domestically and has six additional units in the planning or preparation stage. Through close partnerships with local governments, the company is actively developing new and renewable energy sources, including small hydropower, photovoltaic and wind power, and it is also operating the world's largest fuel cell power plant with 58.8MW of capacity. In late 2009, South Korea secured its first commercial nuclear plant export contract from the United Arab Emirates, covering the delivery of four Advanced Power Reactor 1400 (APR 1400) units. Construction of the first APR 1400, which is acclaimed for its higher structural safety and improved economic feasibility, is slated to be completed by 2017. In addition to the UAE, KHNP is actively pursuing export of its NPPs to other nations. In Asia, KHNP inked formal agreements last year with China National Nuclear Power, a state-owned NPP operator, and Kansai Electric Power of Japan for active technology, personnel and information exchange. KHNP has also been providing benchmarking training programmes to China's Qinshan NPP for the past 16 years. To further reinforce its technological competitiveness, KHNP has unveiled the APR+, a 1,500MW-class large NPP developed solely using Korean technology. Last year, the standard design of the next-generation nuclear reactor was approved by South Korea's Nuclear Safety and Security Commission. The company hopes to diversify its export markets with the launching of the APR+.