South Korea nuclear power plant operator Korea Hydro & Nuclear Power (KHNP) has announced a 10-month delay in commissioning the fourth unit of the Shin Kori nuclear power plant. The Advanced Pressurized Reactor-1400 (APR1400) reactor, rated 1,340 MW net, was expected to start operations in November 2017 and is now scheduled for September 2018. KHNP will slightly improve the reactor design and will carry out additional seismic assessment work, required after the Gyeongju earthquake in September 2016.
The Shin Kori facility consists of the Shin Kori-1 and Shin Kori-2, two operational OPR-1000 reactors (950 MW net, 1,000 MW gross) that were commissioned in 2011 and 2012, respectively, and of the Shin Kori-3 unit, the first Korean-designed APR-1400, which was commissioned in December 2016. The construction of Shin Kori-4 started in August 2009 and was delayed, as for Shin Kori-3, by technical issues. KHNP now plans to load fuel into the fourth reactor in January 2018 and to start commercial operations in September 2018.
Two other units, the Shin Kori-5 and 6 APR-1400 units, were approved by South Korea's nuclear regulator in June 2016 and were scheduled to come onstream in March 2021 and 2022, respectively. In July 2017, KHNP decided to put their construction temporarily on hold following the South Korean government decision to temporarily suspend the construction of the facilities and form a public debate committee to determine whether or not the construction will be completely stopped.
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