Shin Hanul Unit 1 to Begin Full Operation from Tomorrow... Commercial Operation 12 Years After Groundbreaking

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Sejong=Reporter Dongwoo Lee] Shin Hanul Nuclear Power Plant Unit 1 in Uljin-gun, Gyeongbuk, will begin commercial operation on the 7th. Shin Hanul Unit 1 is the first 'Korean-type nuclear power plant' to localize core facilities domestically, and it is entering commercial operation 12 years after construction began in 2010.

On the 6th, Korea Hydro & Nuclear Power announced, "The commercial operation of Shin Hanul Unit 1 is confirmed for the 7th, and a completion ceremony is planned for mid-month." Shin Hanul Unit 1 finalized its construction plan in 2005, started construction in April 2010, and was completed in April 2020. Although it began commissioning after fuel loading with conditional operation approval in July last year, commercial operation was delayed due to safety enhancement reasons, including the previous government's nuclear phase-out policy.

Shin Hanul Unit 1 is a pressurized water reactor applying the 1400-megawatt (MW) class Korean APR1400. The APR1400 is a next-generation nuclear power plant that expands generation capacity from the existing 1000 MW to 1400 MW and extends the design life from 40 years to 60 years. The nuclear industry estimates that Shin Hanul Unit 1 will produce up to 2 billion KRW worth of electricity per day and approximately 730 billion KRW annually.

The government expects stable power supply and demand this winter with the introduction of Shin Hanul Unit 1. With the operation of Shin Hanul Unit 1, domestic power supply capacity is expected to increase by 5.5 GW from the previous year to 109 GW. The government anticipates that power demand will peak at 90.4 to 94.0 gigawatts (GW) around the third week of January next year (15th to 21st), with reserve capacity between 15.0 and 18.6 GW, ensuring stable power supply and demand.

Domestic nuclear technology development is also expected to gain momentum. With the localization of core facilities in Shin Hanul Unit 1 achieving technological independence, interest in Korean nuclear technology is rising in the Middle East, Europe, and other regions. Earlier, Korea Hydro & Nuclear Power secured a 3 trillion KRW contract for the El Dabaa nuclear power project in Egypt in August this year and signed a Letter of Intent (LOI) with the Polish Power Company in October for cooperation on nuclear power plant construction in the Pomtnoff area.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.