Cheonji Nuclear Power Plant

The Cheonji Nuclear Power Plant (Korean: 천지원자력발전소) is a planned South Korean nuclear power plant located in rural Yeongdeok County. Cheonji would be the first plant to implement the uprated APR+ design with 1500MWe output. The first unit, Cheonji-1, was scheduled to enter commercial operation in 2026, with the sister unit Cheonji-2 to follow in 2027. However, in the wake of the election of Moon Jae-in, who campaigned on an anti-nuclear platform, plans to acquire the land and proceed with license application were put on hold in 2017.

Cheonji Nuclear Power Plant
Official name천지원자력발전소
CountrySouth Korea
LocationYeongdeok County
Coordinates36.410°N 129.375°E / 36.410; 129.375
StatusCancelled
Owner(s)Korea Hydro & Nuclear Power
Operator(s)Korea Hydro & Nuclear Power
Nuclear power station
Reactor typePWR
Reactor supplierKEPCO E&C
Cooling sourceSea of Japan
(East sea of Korea)
Power generation
Units planned2 × 1500 MW APR+

History

In 2014, an agreement was signed to allow construction of two units in Yeongdeok County, with construction planned to start by 2022.[1] The proposed site in Yeongdeok would be named Cheonji[2] and would occupy land in the villages of Nomul-ri, Maejeong-ri, and Seok-ri in Yeongdeok-eup.[3] Samcheok had been previously selected as a new site for reactors in 2012, but residents there rejected a reactor in a 2015 referendum. The population of Yeongdeok had declined from 113,000 in 1974 to 38,000 in 2016, with one-third of residents aged 65 or older; the site for a new nuclear power plant was sought as a way to ensure the continued survival of the county.[4]

Moon Jae-in campaigned in 2017 for president following the impeachment of Park Geun-hye, vowing to not build any new reactors. At the time, five reactors were under construction, three of which were near completion (Shin Kori (SKN)-4; Shin Hanul-1 and -2) and two of which had just started (SKN-5 and -6). Shin Hanul-3 and -4 were in the process of license application, and very preliminary work had started on Cheonji for site acquisition. After Moon was sworn in, construction was suspended on SKN-5/6 and design work was suspended on Shin Hanul-3/4 and Cheonji-1/2 in July 2017. An independent panel was convened to evaluate continuing construction. After hearing from 471 citizens, the panel recommended that construction resume on SKN-5/6 in October 2017 by approximately a three-fifths majority.[5]

Reactors

The planned reactors are APR+ pressurized water reactors.[6]

Name Capacity
(net)		 Design First criticality Commercial start NSSS Turbine generator A-E Construction
Cheonji-1 1500 MW APR+ — 2026 (planned) Doosan/KEPCO E&C Doosan/GE TBD TBD
Cheonji-2 1500 MW APR+ — 2027 (planned) Doosan/KEPCO E&C Doosan/GE TBD TBD

See also

References
  1. "Sites agreed for four more South Korean reactors". World Nuclear News. 21 November 2014. Retrieved 24 November 2014.
  2. Kim, Eun-jung (31 October 2017). "KHNP to review legality of early closure of Wolsong-1 reactor". Yonhap News. Retrieved 24 January 2018.
  3. "Another community to hold a referendum on hosting a nuclear plant". The Hankyoreh. 10 September 2015. Retrieved 5 January 2018.
  4. Choe San-hun (5 January 2016). "Bitter Debate Over Nuclear Power Simmers in Rural South Korea". The New York Times. Retrieved 5 January 2018.
  5. Choe, Sang-Hun (20 October 2017). "South Korea Will Resume Reactor Work, Defying Nuclear Opponents". The New York Times. Retrieved 5 January 2018.
  6. "Nuclear Power Situation in Korea" (PDF). Norea Nuclear Association for International Cooperation. 11 May 2016. Retrieved 24 January 2018.
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