The United States and South Korean governments reached a $120 billion investment agreement on Sept. 30, collaborating on building eight large-scale reactors in the United States.
The initiative, named Project Power, involves efforts from both governments, Westinghouse, Korea Electric Power Corporation and Korea Hydro & Nuclear Power. Under the project’s framework, the two countries will build six of Westinghouse’s AP1000 reactors and two of South Korea’s APR1400 reactors, the Department of Commerce said in a press release.
For the project’s funding, the Department of Commerce said, “Funding allocated under Project Power totals $120 billion out of $200 billion. Of the $120 billion, $100 billion is slated for construction costs (overnight costs) and $20 billion for contingency reserves. These reserves are counted toward the investment amount.”
The U.S. and South Korea have agreed to work together to transfer a $10 billion payment in advance by the end of the year to ensure that the eight large-scale reactors are built. Much of that $10 billion payment will go towards buying long lead components, according to the release.
The two countries continue to deepen their strategic global partnership as this agreement progresses a trade deal they signed last July and a memorandum of understanding they signed last November.
This international agreement builds on the Donald Trump administration’s goal to have at least 10 large reactors under construction by 2030. The goal was laid out in Executive Order 14302.
Earlier this year, the Department of Energy’s Office of Energy Dominance Financing issued a $17.5 billion loan to facilitate the supply chain to support the construction of 10 AP1000 reactors, since Westinghouse’s reactor technology is the only Nuclear Regulatory Commission-licensed in the country at the time.