[Asia Economy Reporter Ji-hwan Park] Meritz Securities emphasized on the 24th that the resumption of overseas nuclear power plant orders and the recent changes in attitudes of advanced countries toward nuclear power are factors that could transform the nuclear power industry.
On the 21st, Jeong Jae-hoon, President of Korea Hydro & Nuclear Power (KHNP), stated at the comprehensive national audit, "There will be nuclear power plant order contracts worth trillions of won by the end of this year or early next year." This is estimated to be the $1 billion Egypt El-Dabaa nuclear power project. KHNP, KEPCO Engineering & Construction, Hyundai Engineering & Construction, and Doosan Heavy Industries & Construction have formed a consortium. The main contract is expected to be signed early next year and the project will proceed over 2022-2023.
Moon Kyung-won, a researcher at Meritz Securities, said, "Although the scale is not large due to only partial facility orders, it is significant as the first overseas order since the UAE project," and added, "The next promising project is the Czech project with 1-2 units, with operator selection expected to be finalized around late 2022 to early 2023."
Due to the recent energy shortage crisis, the necessity of nuclear power is being highlighted even within advanced countries. France recently announced through ‘France 2030’ a 1 billion euro investment in the development of Small Modular Reactors (SMRs), a review of six large nuclear power plant constructions, and plans to establish hydrogen production facilities utilizing nuclear power. The UK emphasized the necessity of nuclear power in its Net Zero roadmap ‘Build Back Greener’ and plans to support at least one new nuclear power plant. Japan is also pushing for the restart of its suspended nuclear power plants.
Researcher Moon said, "It is unfortunate that the European Union (EU) taxonomy decision has been delayed," adding, "The EU was scheduled to announce its decision on whether to include nuclear power and natural gas as environmentally friendly energy sources around October-November 2021, but due to increasing controversy among member states regarding nuclear power, the decision is expected to be postponed to the first half of 2022."
He advised, "Considering recent fatigue over the sharp rise in valuations, the lack of additional events until the end of the year, and the high possibility of poor performance in the second half for KEPCO KPS, careful consideration is needed regarding the timing of purchases."
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