South Korean power utility holding KEPCO has started discussions with Japanese industrial group Toshiba and is considering acquiring a stake in Toshiba's Moorside nuclear power project in West Cumbria (United Kingdom). KEPCO would want to use its own reactor design for the project.
The Moorside nuclear project should feature three Westinghouse AP1000 nuclear reactors of 1,200 MW each but Westinghouse - a Toshiba subsidiary - filed for bankruptcy in March 2017, threatening the entire project. Consequently, Engie withdrew from the project and sold its 40% stake in the project company NuGen to its partner Toshiba, which has been the sole owner of NuGen since April 2017.
KEPCO's entering the project would rescue the £10bn (€11.4bn) project but changing the reactor design would delay the project commissioning - scheduled for 2025 - by at least two years. This delay would be a further blow to the British government's nuclear policy, as the EDF-led Hinkley Point C nuclear project may also be delayed by two years to 2027.
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