The UK's Office for Nuclear Regulation (ONR) and the Environment Agency have started the second stage of the generic design assessment for the UK version of China’s Hualong One (HPR1000) nuclear plant.
The reference plant for the UK HPR1000 design is CGN’s Fangchenggang 3 in China which is under construction and on schedule.
China General Nuclear Power Corporation (CGN) is planning to build the Hualong One reactor at the Bradwell B site in Essex in partnership with EDF Energy.
ONR’s deputy chief inspector and director of its new reactors division, Mike Finnerty, said the purpose of GDA is to determine whether the design meets the robust safety and security standards required for use in the UK. “I am satisfied that there are adequate project management and technical provisions in place to enter step two of the process and, as regulators, we can begin our technical assessment phase,” he noted.
According to the UK HPR1000 website, the second step of the GDA – a high-level technical assessment of the design – is expected to take about 12 months. The targeted timescale for the entire assessment process, which began on 10 January 2017, is about five years.
General Nuclear System Ltd, the UK joint venture company owned by CGN (66.5%), and France's EDF (33.5%) will also launch a comments process, which enables anyone to submit questions about the reactor design.
GNS has not yet announced a proposed schedule for Bradwell project.
Photo: The UK HPR1000 reactor (Credit: GNS)
