This undated file photo released by the Korea Electric Power Corp. shows the third reactor of the Barakah nuclear plant of the United Arab Emirates
SEOUL, April 6 (Korea Bizwire) — South Korean nuclear plant operator’s application to build a nuclear power plant in the Czech Republic has been rejected by the U.S. government.
Previously, U.S. nuclear energy firm Westinghouse Electric Company LLC filed a suit in the Washington, D.C. federal district court to restrict unilateral exports, saying that its technology is applied in the development of Korean-style nuclear plants.
According to the documents submitted to the court, the Korea Hydro & Nuclear Power Co. (KHNP) provided information to the U.S. Department of Energy regarding its bid for the Czech nuclear plant project on Dec. 23, 2022.
The filing is related to the Chapter 10, Section 810 in the U.S. Code of Federal Regulations, which designates certain nuclear power technologies as the subject of export controls and imposes an obligation to obtain a license or report to the department when such technology is transferred to a foreign country.
Under these regulations, the Czech Republic is one of the countries for which the U.S. government generally approves nuclear power transfer, and companies wishing to export nuclear power to the country must notify the Department of Energy within 30 days of commencing the related activity.
However, in the letter that the Department of Energy sent to the KHNP on Jan. 19, it rejected the application, saying that the application to the Department of Energy under Section 810 should be submitted by an American entity.
This means that the obligation of fulfilling the U.S. export control falls on the American company taking the technology out of the country, not the KHNP, suggesting that the KHNP should submit the application together with Westinghouse for it to be accepted.
This move can be interpreted as a signal that the U.S. government is putting the brakes on the South Korean company’s nuclear plant project in the Czech Republic.
J. S. Shin (js_shin@koreabizwire.com)
