U.K. in Talks With South Korea to Build Nuclear Power Plants

(Bloomberg) -- The U.K. is in talks with South Korea about building nuclear power plants in Britain to help the government's push to triple installed capacity by 2050.

Business Secretary Kwasi Kwarteng met with state-owned Korea Electric Power Corp. to discuss participation in future projects, according to a person familiar with the matter who asked not to be named because the talks are private.

The discussions, first reported by the Daily Telegraph, are part of efforts to revive a planned industry renaissance that has faltered over more than a decade. Prime Minister Boris Johnson committed to building as many as eight nuclear plants by 2050 in the energy security strategy he announced last month.

But achieving that will require a significant acceleration in pace of development. Several projects have failed to get up and running and the only new nuclear power station being built -- at Hinkley Point in southwest England -- isn't due to come online until 2026.

U.K. Bets Big on Nuclear, Wind in Energy Security Strategy

The U.K. is planning a huge push into renewable energy, particularly offshore wind, with a target to add 50 gigawatts to the current 14 gigawatts by 2050. That will need stable backup generation for days when it's not windy and the government wants low-carbon nuclear to take that role. That leaves a sizable shortfall, with all but one of the U.K.'s existing 11 reactors due to close by the end of the decade.

Electricite de France SA is building the new Hinkley Point plant, while the only other large-scale nuclear facility that's close to being agreed is EDF's Sizewell C. Financing for that project is still being hammered out. Ministers want private capital for 60% of the costs of building Sizewell C on the Suffolk coast, with the state and EDF both taking a 20% share.