|
[Nuclear energy: risk or opportunity? Last in a three-part series]
Korea can turn to developing markets, but may need to forge alliances: experts June 08, 2009
|
||||
However, the market for commercial nuclear power plants is mostly split between the U.S., France and Russia. In particular, Westinghouse and GE of U.S. and Areva of France dominate. The U.S. currently holds the highest number of key technologies to build nuclear power plants. It has 129 such sites, the most in the world. Nuclear power is being reviewed for expanded use by U.S. President Barrack Obama for economic and environmental reasons. France, like the United States, is one of the few countries that owns key technologies and has development and export capabilities. Westinghouse and Areva share the pressurized water reactor market, while the Atomic Energy Power Corp., which is an affiliate of Russia’s Federal Atomic Energy Agency or Rosatom, is in charge of the Russian nuclear power plant industry. ASE, the production and sales arm of the Atomic Energy Power Corp., has exported nuclear power plants to Iran, Pakistan and Turkey. Whether the exporter is American or French, Japanese companies such as Toshiba, Hitachi and Mitsubishi make money. These Japanese companies are capable of building and operating nuclear power plants. However, they face limitations when it comes to exporting generators on their own. To overcome these weakness the Japanese companies have forged strategic alliances overseas. One expert suggests this is the route Korea should take. “Korea’s brand recognition is low, and we have little experience in exporting nuclear power plants,” said Baek Won-pil at the Korea Atomic Energy Research Institute. “Korea needs to make strategic alliances with foreign companies.” Another obstacle Korea faces to competing in the global market is its limited number of core technologies. “Research on developing Korea’s own technologies such as reactor coolant pumps and management software are currently underway,” said Park Won-seok of the Korea Atomic Energy Research Institute. Park said that although there is currently a demand for Korean nuclear power plants in the Middle East and South America, there is larger potential in areas where developed countries show little interest. And of course Korea must keep its eye on China. The Chinese government’s national development reform committee in May 2007 set a goal to expand its nuclear power facilities to be able to generate a total of 160 gigawatts by 2030. By Yum Tae-jung, Shim Jae-woo [ojlee82@joongang.co.kr] |
|
