20 Jun (NucNet): Areva has applied to UK regulators for pre-licensing of its European pressurised water reactor (EPR) design, saying its application is supported by major European utilities.
Areva said today its application is accompanied by letters of support from British Energy, EDF, E.ON UK, Iberdrola, RWE npower and Suez, who all consider the EPR to be a potential design for new build nuclear in the UK. Other major utilities have also expressed serious interest in the EPR, the company said in a statement.
Should Areva’s application be accepted, the three-year pre-licensing project will be jointly managed with EDF. This joint approach would bring together the combined strengths of a vendor and a potential licensee, Areva said.
The Olkiluoto-3 EPR unit in Finland is under construction and another is to be built at Flamanville in France. The EPR licensing process is also under way in the US.
Pre-licensing is now known in the UK as generic design assessment (GDA). The UK’s Health and Safety Executive (HSE) is hoping to start the first stage of the GDA process – the initial design assessment – in July 2007. This stage should be completed by early 2008.
The UK government is holding a consultation exercise on nuclear energy until mid-October 2007 and is likely to announce its final policy conclusions related to potential new build towards the end of the year.
The HSE says all nuclear related work, including generic design assessment, is progressing “on a contingency basis” and would be stopped if the government concludes it will not support the building of new nuclear units.
