The process of reinforcing new reactors to enable them to better withstand massive tremors will raise design costs by at least 100 billion won, a state-run nuclear power company said Friday.
The Korea Hydro & Nuclear Power Co. (KHNP) said it spent about 200 billion won to design the New Gori 2 plant, which can stand up to a 6.5-magnitude quake right under its foundation, but the next atomic power unit must be safe from a much more powerful 7.0 quake.
The reactor being built in Busan, on the country's southeastern coast, is expected to go on-line by the end of the year, and will be
the last atomic power unit in South Korea to be designed to remain safe from just a 6.5 quake.
"Making changes to the blueprint alone will likely cost an additional 100 billion won," the power company said. The revised design requirements will go into effect starting with the New Gori 3 unit to be completed by 2014.
The KHNP said that actual construction cost of a single reactor could go up considerably from US$5-6 billion at present, although exact cost is hard to calculate.
South Korea has 21 commercial reactors in operation and plans to build seven more reactors by 2017, with 10 to 12 additional units to be in operation by 2030.
If the buildup program moves forward on schedule, the country's reliance on nuclear power is expected to surge to 59 percent of total
electricity demand from 31.5 percent tallied for last year.
Seoul, meanwhile, announced Thursday that it will build all future nuclear reactors to cope with more powerful quakes and tsunamis after
a 9.0-magnitude temblor and killer waves devastated the northeastern part of Honshu Island in Japan.
The quake crippled the Fukushima power plant located about 250 kilometers northeast of Tokyo, with four of its six reactors rocked by
explosion. The damaged reactors have released radioactive materials into the atmosphere, requiring authorities to evacuate a large number of people to safety.