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The Czech government has picked Korea Hydro & Nuclear Power (KHNP) as preferred bidder to for the Czech Nuclear Tender build two nuclear reactors, marking South Korea’s first overseas order for a large-scale nuclear power project since 2009.
The final contract, including the value, remains to be negotiated, with completion of the deal targeted for March, South Korea’s industry ministry said. However, the Czech government estimated the cost of a new unit when building two at the same site at 200 billion crowns ($8.65 billion) at current prices.
KHNP, a subsidiary of Korean state utility KEPCO (015760.KS), opens new tab, beat a rival bid from France’s EDF as South Korea seeks to capitalise on a revival of interest globally in nuclear power, with countries seeking to enhance energy security and lower carbon emissions.
How Did South Korea Win the Czech Nuclear Tender?
During the bidding process, KHNP stressed its ability to meet project deadlines and keep costs within budget based on South Korea’s previous track record, including its 2009 order from the United Arab Emirates (UAE), South Korean officials said.
South Korea’s bid was considerably less costly than that put forward by two sources with knowledge of the matter told Reuters, declining to be identified as they are not authorised to speak to media.
NULCEAR POWER TRACK RECORD
In 2009, South Korea, spearheaded by KEPCO, signed an $18.6 billion deal with the UAE to build four nuclear reactors at the Barakah nuclear energy plant, totalling 5,600 megawatts in capacity, according to KEPCO.
Moreover, three reactors became operational in 2021, 2022 and 2023, respectively, and a fourth is on track to start operations later this year, according to KEPCO.
KHNP, which participated in the Barakah project, oversees 26 nuclear reactors in South Korea including some that have operated for nearly 40 years, and is currently building two more, according to company data. The 26 reactors supply about a third of South Korea’s electricity, according to the World Nuclear Association. In 2023, KHNP won an order to build a tritium removal facility for a reactor in Romania’s Cernavoda nuclear power plant, and began working on a feasibility study for new nuclear power facilities in the Netherlands, the company said.. French state power giant EDF lost a bid to build at least two new nuclear reactors in the Czech Republic on Wednesday, a major blow to Europe’s only nuclear power plant builder at a critical time for the company.
EDF to Bid Once MORE
The project, won instead by Korea’s KHNP, would have been the first contract for EDF since Hinkley Point in Great Britain in 2016, and a vote of confidence after being dogged by delays and soaring costs on projects at home and abroad.
But its recent track record and a gamble on new, untested technology has cost it a significant new project and likely others in the future too.
“We were counting on this project to give credibility to our offer on a European scale,” said a source at EDF, declining to be identified because of the sensitivity of the issue.
“But unfortunately the reality of the costs outweighed any political rhetoric, and the message sent to the rest of Europe was not the one we had hoped for.” |
