South Korea’s Korea Hydro & Nuclear Power (KHNP) has opened a bidding process to select candidate sites for two new nuclear reactors planned for construction by 2038. KHNP began the bidding process just a few days after the government confirmed plans to build two large-scale nuclear reactors between 2037 and 2038 as outlined under the 11th Basic Power Supply Plan, ending months of uncertainty about the government’s nuclear plans.
Since then a number of cities and towns, including the southeastern cities of Busan and Ulsan, have reportedly shown interest in hosting the new nuclear reactors. KHNP plans to select sites for the new reactors by 2027. This will be followed by a site evaluation and selection process lasting about five to six months, with the goal of obtaining a construction permit in the early 2030s. KHNP said it has also opened a bidding process to select the host site for a next-generation small modular reactor (SMR).
Heads of local government have until 30 March to submit applications to host the planned reactors, which will have a combined generating capacity of 2.8 GWe. KHNP said it has “established a site selection committee comprised of external experts to ensure fair and objective site selection”. It added: “We plan to select a new nuclear power plant candidate site through a comprehensive evaluation.”
