Two South Korean-designed APR1400 reactors would be included alongside two additional AP1000 reactors in the second phase. The final third phase would consist of two more AP1000 reactors.
The government’s reference to a six-month period does not establish a deadline for signing the APR1400 contract.
Instead, it refers to the interval between the engineering, procurement and construction contract for the first two AP1000 reactors and the second-phase EPC contract that includes the APR1400 units
The two sides agreed to make “reasonable efforts” to limit that interval to six months.
The timing is significant because delays in follow-on contracts could affect procurement and preparations for equipment with long manufacturing lead times.
The ministry said production and delivery can take 54 months for reactor vessels, 57 months for steam generators and 65 months for reactor coolant pumps and motors.
The U.S. government has separately sought to accelerate nuclear construction by purchasing long-lead equipment in advance.
The U.S. Department of Energy in June announced conditional loan support totaling $17.5 billion for long-lead equipment for as many as 10 AP1000 reactors.
The initiative is intended to support as many as five projects with two reactors each and could shorten development schedules by as much as three years. It is separate from the eight-reactor Korea-U.S. investment project.
Westinghouse said at the time that it had signed letters of intent with seven prospective project partners that had identified potential sites.
The Energy Department plans to proceed with equipment purchases according to factors including the timing of equity commitments for individual projects.
The letters of intent are not final EPC contracts, and projects must satisfy technical, environmental and financial requirements before loan funds can be disbursed.
The APR1400 projects still require site-specific development, including evaluations of location and economic feasibility.
The South Korean ministry said the basic plan calls for reactors to be built on U.S. federal land designated by the United States, while South Korea would be permitted to request an alternative location.
Project costs and economics could vary depending on soil conditions, access to water, distance from electricity consumers and required transmission-grid construction.
The government has also discussed making an initial payment of up to $10 billion by the end of the year, subject to a commercial-reasonableness review, reporting to the National Assembly and other legal requirements.
The proposal is intended to secure long-lead equipment in advance and increase participation by South Korean companies.
The government, however, has not specified how any advance payment would be divided between the AP1000 and APR1400 programs.
“This announcement does not mean that the nuclear power projects will immediately proceed,” Industry Minister Kim Jung-kwan said.
“Once specific matters such as sites, project structures and construction schedules are finalized, the government will decide whether to proceed with individual projects after reviewing commercial reasonableness and completing National Assembly procedures,” he said.
The agreement therefore creates an opportunity for the APR1400 to enter the U.S. market but does not itself constitute a reactor order.
The extent of the project’s impact will depend largely on how quickly the second-stage contracts involving the South Korean reactor design are finalized.
— Reported by Asia Today; translated by UPI
Source: UPI