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The US government has rejected Korea Hydro & Nuclear Power’s (KHNP’s) report on the tender for a nuclear power plant project in the Czech Republic. This has increased concerns that Korea’s plans to boost its nuclear reactor exports may continue to be stalled by ongoing litigation with Westinghouse Electric Company.

Date: Wednesday, 12 April 2023
Original article: neimagazine.com/news/newsus-stalls-south-koreas-npp-export-plans-10747925

Final bids due next year and contract with winning technology provider could be finalised in 2024 The Czech Republic is planning at least one new nuclear plant at the Dukovany site. Courtesy ČEZ. France’s EDF, South Korea’s Korea Hydro & Nuclear Power (KHNP) and US-based group Westinghouse Electric have made initial bids to build a new reactor unit at the Czech Republic’s Dukovany nuclear power station, Czech utility ČEZ said today.

ČEZ said Elektrárna Dukovany II, the wholly owned subsidiary set up to implement the new-build project, will now analyse the bids and negotiate with the three bidders. The bidders will then submit final bids by the end of September 2023.

Majority state-owned ČEZ, which launched the Dukovany expansion tender in March, said it expects the contracts to be finalised in 2024.

The initial bids are the basis for clarifying technical and commercial parameters, but not for the actual selection or exclusion of contractors, ČEZ said. 

EDF’s reactor technology is the EPR, KHNP’s the APR-1400 and Westinghouse’s the AP1000. All three reactor types have seen commercial operation or are under construction in different countries.

Two EPRs and four AP1000s are commercially operational in China, while the APR-1400 is operated commercially in South Korea and the United Arab Emirates (UAE). 

Additionally, EPR new build projects are near completion at Olkiluoto in Finland and Flamanville in France, while construction is under way of two EPR units at Hinkley Point C in England. Two APR-1400s are in the commissioning stage and two are operating commercially at Barakah in the UAE.

ČEZ said there has been progress on preparation for the project. In 2019, the environment ministry approved an environmental impact assessment. Last year, Elektrárna Dukovany II received a siting permit from the State Office for Nuclear Safety and a generating facility authorisation from the ministry of industry and trade. The zoning procedure has begun, with the company applying to the building authority in June 2021.

Date: Thursday, 01 December 2022
Original article: nucnet.org/news/three-companies-submit-bids-to-build-new-nuclear-at-dukovany-11-3-2022

After leading the 14-member Support and Assistance Mission to Zaporizhzia (ISAMZ), International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Director General Rafael Mariano Grossi summarised the situation at the NPP sayng that the physical integrity of the plant had been violated.

Date: Tuesday, 06 September 2022
Original article: neimagazine.com/news/newszaporizhizhia-physical-integrity-violated-9977999

Iraq is working on a plan to build nuclear reactors in face of widespread blackouts that have sparked social unrest, Bloomberg reported on 8 June. Despite being OPEC’s second biggest oil producer, Iraq is suffering from power shortages and insufficient investment in ageing plants, and needs to meet an expected 50% jump in demand by the end of the decade. Building NPPs could help to close the supply gap.

Date: Wednesday, 16 June 2021
Original article: neimagazine.com/news/newsiraq-looks-to-revive-its-nuclear-programme-8822664

The impetus for new build is being spurred by a need to reduce reliance on polluting coal China has 10 nuclear units under construction including two Generation III Hualong One plants at Fangchenggang. China, with its state nuclear companies backed by a government hungry for development, is the most active nation for building new nuclear power plants. That trend that is likely to continue, although confirming lucrative export deals for its reactor technology still runs far behind the pace set by Russia, which says it had 39 reactors under construction or planned overseas as of 2018.

This compares to only two reactors under construction overseas by China, both in Pakistan, although in the UK China has a stake in EDF’s Hinkley Point C project and plans for Chinese technology at Bradwell B. At Sizewell C in Suffolk EDF wants to build a clone of Hinkley Point C if it can attract enough private investment. CGN holds a 20% share.

The government has said it wants to build 30 reactors overseas by 2030. China and Russia both see Africa, where about 600 million people live without electricity, as something of a golden fleece and are pursuing nuclear agreements, which lay the groundwork for new-build, in a number of African nations. Small modular reactors and floating reactors could be an option for isolated areas. China has already said it is close to starting work on its first floating unit, but reliable details are few and far between.

The impetus for nuclear power in China is increasingly due to air pollution from coal-fired plants. To meet its climate goal as stipulated in the Paris agreement, China will need to reduce its coal power capacity by 40% over the next decade, according to Global Energy Monitor’s analysis. At present, this seems unrealistic. In addition to roughly 1,000 GW of existing coal capacity, China has 121 GW of coal plants under construction, which is more than is being built in the rest of the world combined.

Date: Friday, 24 January 2020
Original article: nucnet.org/news/china-keen-to-match-pace-set-by-russia-in-overseas-construction-1-4-2020