State company says decision ‘based on business considerations’
Korea Hydro & Nuclear Power (KHNP) has decided to withdraw from the bidding competition for a planned new nuclear power station project in Slovenia, BusinessKorea reported.
The report follows an announcement last month that Slovenia’s state-owned power firm GEN Energija had signed contracts for feasibility studies with French energy company EDF and US-based Westinghouse Electric Company, marking a key step towards the planned expansion of the single-unit Krško nuclear power station.
GEN Energia said at the time that KHNP would not submit a bid and would resign from taking part in the project. GEN Energija referred to an assessment by KHNP of the current business environment and a change in the company’s business priorities.
The 688-MW Krško, supplied by Westinghouse, is Slovenia’s only nuclear station. It is in the east of the country on the border with Croatia and began commercial operation in 1983.
Slovenia has been considering the construction of a second unit at the site. Earlier reports said a final decision would be made in 2027 or 2028 with commercial operation in the mid-2040s.
BusinessKorea said observers speculate that KHNP is effectively withdrawing from the European nuclear market – where most of the demand for new nuclear power plants is concentrated – conceding it to EDF and Westinghouse.
BusinessKorea quoted a KHNP official as saying the company decided not to participate in the project “based on business considerations”, including the Czech nuclear project and our focus on SMR development.
In July, KHNP was chosen as preferred bidder in a lucrative public tender to build two nuclear plants at Dukovany in the Czech Republic with the first unit scheduled to be online by 2036.
