Electrical energy in SOUTH KOREA is mainly generated from conventional thermal power which

accounts more than two thirds of production and the remaining is generated mainly from nuclear power
which is around one third. South Korea has 26 nuclear reactors generating 26GW of electricity from
uranium imported mostly from Canada.

South Korea is leading in developing the nuclear reactor plan in small scale i.e., a small modular reactor
(SMR) where in nuclear power is generated with a capacity of less than 300MW . The development goal
of this project is an SMR with improved safety and economic feasibility. DOOSAN Enerbility is taking
this project in hands for the design and engineering of the main components of SMR jointly developed by
korea and Saudi Arabia. The whole engineered system is to adopt the PASSIVE SAFETY where safety
feature is activated not by any external active power sources for emergencies but by natural forces like
gravity. The company says that safety can be ensured up to 20 days even in accident-conducive
conditions. With this feature in the 110MW integral reactor, safety can be greatly enhanced.

NuScale technology known for its leadership in SMR is to provide promising designs with reduced cost
and installation time. The NuScale is an US based company, which believes that Korean partnership in
the development of SMR would be a key decision for its growth. The NuScale uses the principles of
buoyancy-driven natural circulation, where no pumps are required to circulate water in the reactor thereby
reducing active power usage. The whole system is compressed into a module, which are to be fully
factory-built with no in field construction, erection, or fabrication. This helps in reduced installation time
and mass production promotes vast usage.

NuScale is set to start generating electricity by 2029 at the Idaho National Laboratory, as a part of Carbon
Free Power Plant.

SMR is to have many advantages over a tradional Nuclear power plants. The advantages include:

 SMRs have low investments and cooling requirements. Hence, reducing the overall cost.
 These can be quickly built with its proven standards.
 SMRs are designed to operate for up to 30 years without refuelling.
 They can be sited in locations where a traditional nuclear power plant cannot be sited.
 SMRs are to have better safety.
 They require much shorter construction time than traditional once.
 SMRs generate clean, carbon-free electricity which can be used in multiples applications.

Though it posses many advantages, the only risk in this technology is that SMRs produce upto 30 times of
radioactive waste per unit than traditional nuclear power plants. These radioactive waste or radiations are
human hazardous.