HSE has prepared guidance on how the licensing of new nuclear power plants could be dealt with, and in particular, how generic design assessment could be introduced, to allow design issues to be dealt with in advance of site-specific matters.
This envisages a four step process for design assessment:
This process is likely to take around three and a half years to complete, but could take longer if a number of applications were being considered by HSE simultaneously. In order that the process is open and transparent, and to encourage public participation, HSE will be asking applicants to put as much information about their plans into the public domain as possible, bearing in mind commercial confidentiality and security considerations. Public comments on the safety case(s) will be invited, and subsequently used by HSE to inform its regulatory decisions.
At the end of this process, HSE would seek to issue a short statement on the acceptability, in principle, of a licence application being based on the generic design assessed.
This could then be followed by a formal site licence application, which would be considered by HSE following the completion of the generic design assessment process. This would centre on site-specific issues and those relating to the organisation of the potential operator. Elements of the design considered in depth during generic design assessment would be regarded as ‘frozen’ and not re examined unless significant modifications were proposed.
It should be noted that, although preferred, generic design assessment will not be mandatory, and potential licensees will not be precluded from applying for a nuclear licence without going through design assessment.