The Hanul Nuclear Power Plant (originally the Uljin NPP ) is a large
nuclear power station in the
North Gyeongsang Province
North Gyeongsang Province (, ) is a province in eastern South Korea, and with an area of , it is the largest province in the Korean peninsula. The province was formed in 1896 from the northern half of the former Gyeongsang province, and remaine ...
of
South Korea
South Korea, officially the Republic of Korea (ROK), is a country in East Asia. It constitutes the southern half of the Korea, Korean Peninsula and borders North Korea along the Korean Demilitarized Zone, with the Yellow Sea to the west and t ...
. The facility has eight
pressurized water reactor
A pressurized water reactor (PWR) is a type of light-water nuclear reactor. PWRs constitute the large majority of the world's nuclear power plants (with notable exceptions being the UK, Japan, India and Canada).
In a PWR, water is used both as ...
s (PWRs) with total operating capacity of 8561
MW, and a further 2680
MW under construction. The first went online in 1988.
In the early 2000s it was the
third largest operational nuclear power plant in the world and the second largest in South Korea. The plant's name was changed from Uljin to Hanul in 2013.
On 4 May 2012, ground was broken for two new reactors, Shin ("new") Uljin-1 and -2 using
APR-1400
The APR-1400 (for Advanced Power Reactor 1400 Megawatt, MW electricity) is an advanced Pressurized water reactor, pressurized water nuclear reactor designed by the Korea Electric Power Corporation (KEPCO). Originally known as the Korean Ne ...
reactors.
Fuel loading completed at Shin Hanul 1 in October 2021. Unit 1 achieved first criticality on 22 May 2022, 11 am local time with electricity generation expected to start in June 2022. Unit 2 achieved criticality on 6 December 2023, 6 am local time, with grid connection expected for 20 December 2023.
The APR-1400 is a Generation III PWR design with a gross capacity of 1400 MW. It is the first to use Korean-made components for all critical systems. In 2012, the reactors were expected to cost about 7 trillion won (US$6 billion), and to be completed by 2018.
In September 2024 South Korea's Nuclear Safety and Security Commission issued a licence to Korea Hydro & Nuclear Power for the construction of units 3 and 4 of the Shin Hanul nuclear power plant, scheduled to be completed by 2032, and by 2033.
Reactors
See also
* List of nuclear power stations
* List of power stations in South Korea
* Yeonggwang Nuclear Power Station
References
{{Reflist
Nuclear power stations in South Korea
Nuclear power stations using pressurized water reactors
Nuclear power stations with reactors under construction