KHNP issues Asia's first nuclear power green bond

Fund for research in safety, next-gen technologies

By Ko Dong-hwan

Korea Hydro & Nuclear Plant (KHNP) has issued Asia's first green bond, in acknowledgment of environmentally clean nuclear power energy, the state-run nuclear power plant operator and technology developer said Wednesday.

A green bond is a debt instrument used to finance projects that have positive environmental or climate benefits.

The company said its nuclear power green bond was issued after Moody’s Ratings assigned KHNP’s Green Bond Framework its highest sustainability quality score of SQS1. The global credit rating agency said the Korean company demonstrated “best practices” across all four factors under Alignment with Green Bond Principles and a “high” contribution to sustainability.

The issuance of KHNP’s nuclear power green bond came after global investors in Hong Kong and Singapore jointly funded 1.2 billion Hong Kong dollars ($154 million). The bond has a three-year maturity.

The company said the cash will be used for researching higher safety measures for nuclear power and next-generation nuclear power technologies like small modular reactors.

KHNP President and CEO Whang Joo-ho said the issuance of the green bond signifies the company’s nuclear power technologies have been globally recognized as an environmentally clean energy source.

“The green bond has demonstrated that KHNP is leading not just in construction and management of a nuclear power plant, but also the financial sector in the global nuclear power market,” Whang said.

Until now, KHNP has been relying on regular nongreen bonds to fund its nuclear power plant operations because conventional green bonds were limited to renewable energy sources.