Generic Design Assessment is just one part of wider plans for nuclear new build in the UK.
ONR and the Environment Agency have an entirely neutral view on whether nuclear is 'right or wrong'. If it is built or being built, the regulators ensure it is safe, secure, environmentally sound and the hazard is properly managed and controlled.
More information about the future of nuclear power is available on the Department for Energy and Climate Change website
There are various elements involved in the Government's plans for nuclear new build, including:
A new process has been set up, by Government, to help decide where new nuclear power stations can be built. This is called Strategic Siting Assessment (SSA).
Before any new type of nuclear power station can be built it must be shown that the benefits of introducing the new type of power station would outweigh the health detriment. This process is called Justification.
For more information, visit the Nuclear White Paper: Facilitative Actions - Department for Business Enterprise & Regulatory Reform website
Steps are being taken by Government to improve the planning process for major building projects. These include setting up a Planning Inspectorate, whose job it is to make planning decisions for major building projects based on National Policy Statements.
Measures are being put in place by Government to make sure companies building and operating new nuclear power stations meet the full costs of decommissioning the power station at the end of its life, and their fair share of the waste management and disposal costs.
For more information, visit the Nuclear White Paper: Facilitative Actions - Department for Business Enterprise & Regulatory Reform website.
Plans are being taken forward by Government to develop a geological disposal facility for radioactive waste, which was one of the recommendations of the Committee on Radioactive Waste Management (CoRWM).
One of a number of proposed new nuclear power stations in the UK, Hinkley Point, with two existing nuclear power stations is the subject of a nuclear site licence application to the Office for Nuclear Regulation.
An organisation wishing to carry out prescribed nuclear activities must apply for, and be granted, a nuclear site licence before it starts installation of a nuclear safety-related plant. A site licence puts the licence holder under strict legal obligations and, importantly, gives specific regulatory powers to ONR to ensure the safe construction, commissioning and operation of a nuclear site. For example a Licence holder would typically have to request a Consent from ONR to begin nuclear safety related construction.
Designs for potential new nuclear power stations - MISC790