UK nuclear power station operator British Energy has welcomed the decision by UK regulators to establish and begin a generic design acceptance program to allow regulators to assess the safety, security and environmental impact of power station design.
British Energy said that it believes any new nuclear generation in the UK should build upon global experience and make use of modern designs that are being licensed and adopted in other countries – goals that will be supported by the program.
The nuclear firm added that the generic design acceptance (GDA) initiative will also limit the need to revisit environmental and efficiency issues in-depth during site-specific planning processes. This reduces regulatory risk and provides a route to shorter and more predictable site-specific assessments, British Energy said.
British Energy expects to work with the vendors and regulators as appropriate during GDA so that it, and any partners, can move quickly and credibly into full licensing, construction and operation as a suitably qualified licensee from the perspective of UK safety and environmental regulators.
British Energy said that it has had initial discussions with four companies that are promoting their reactor designs for the UK. These are Atomic Energy of Canada, French construction group Areva, US-based General Electric and Westinghouse.
To be in a position to select preferred designs that offer the best mix of safety, technical performance, commercial suitability and timely delivery, British Energy will be carrying out its own broader preliminary design assessment, independent of, but in parallel with, the initial regulatory review.
The firm’s assessment will examine licensing potential and will encompass a review of the commercial viability, broader supply chain considerations, constructability and operability of designs for deployment in the UK. British Energy’s conclusions will be timed to coincide with the regulators’ initial assessment, which is expected in late 2007 to early 2008.
British Energy CEO Bill Coley, said: We believe that new nuclear in the UK should build on the experience of the global industry. Adopting generic designs will enable more efficient operations, using shared experience, worldwide availability of spares and expertise, and tried and tested designs.