Shin Kori 1 enters commercial operation

10 March 2011

Shin Kori unit 1 entered commercial operation on 28 February, according to the Korea Institute of Nuclear Safety (KINS). The indigenously designed OPR-1000 is South Korea's seventh such unit and 21st nuclear power reactor overall. The unit took just over four years to build, with the first concrete being poured in July 2006 and grid connection taking place in August 2010. Boasting a net capacity of 1000 MWe, the reactor is owned and operated by the state-run utility Korea Hydro and Nuclear Power (KHNP). The total installed nuclear generating capacity in South Korea now stands at some 18,700 MWe. In 2010, nuclear electricity accounted for 32% of the country's total production.