Mr Kim said in the interview* that KHNP could provide a financing scheme to suit Warsaw’s needs by way of cooperation between the South Korean government, the national export credit agency (K-Sure), and global financing institutions.
Poland wants to build from 6,000 to 9,000 MW of installed nuclear capacity based on proven, large-scale, pressurised water nuclear reactors of Generation III and III+ designs, but has not specified vendors for the technology yet.
In January, climate and environment minister Michal Kurtyka said the Polish government is expecting to complete technology selection for the project by the end of 2021.
Plans have set 2026 as deadline for the beginning of construction for a first proposed unit, with commercial operation eventually in 2033. Five more units would follow, with the last expected online in 2043.
In terms of financing, the Polish state wants to initially have 100% of shares in a company set up to invest in nuclear energy, but once a co-investor is chosen the state will maintain 51% of shares in the company and the co-investor will take 49%. There is a requirement for the co-investor to be “related to the technology provider”.
State-owned KHNP’s leading reactor technology is the APR-1400 Generation III pressurised water reactor design, which has been deployed overseas at the Barakah nuclear power station in the United Arab Emirates.
Domestically, KHNP operates the 1,340-MW APR-1400 at Shin-Kori-3 and -4 and is building more units at Shin-Hanul-1 and -2, as well as Shin-Kori-5 and -6.
* The interview is online on the Biznes Alert portal in English and the original Polish.
