Plans to build small nuclear reactors in parts of Wales and England have passed the first safety assessment hurdle.
The Office for Nuclear Regulation (ONR), the Environment Agency, and Natural Resources Wales (NRW) have announced that they are progressing to the next phase of their assessment of Rolls-Royce 470 MW small module reactor (SMR) design.
The project, which was awarded £210m grant funding in 2021 from UK Research and Innovation (UKRI), has progressed to step two of the Generic Design Assessment (GDA) after completing the first round of assessment by the UK’s independent nuclear regulators.
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The GDA process sees regulators judge the safety, security, safeguards and environmental aspects of the mini nuclear power plant designs before site-specific proposals are brought forward. Step two of the assessment is expected to last for 16 months.
Reaching this stage means Rolls-Royce are now ahead of other designs in securing consent to build and operate SMRs in the UK.
Last November, Rolls-Royce said it was prioritising four potential locations in Cumbria, Gloucestershire and Wales for its small modular nuclear reactors.
The engineering giant is considering land near the Sellafield nuclear site in Cumbria, Oldbury in South Gloucestershire as well as Welsh locations Trawsfynydd and Wylfa in Anglesey, for its small modular nuclear reactors (SMR).
The ‘factory-built’ plants are around a tenth of the size of a conventional nuclear plant, and will have the capacity to generate 470 MW of low carbon energy, equivalent to more than 150 onshore wind turbines and enough to power one million homes for at least 60 years.
The plans have already generated hundreds of millions of pounds of investment and are expected to create thousands of jobs.
Rolls-Royce SMR has now launched a comments process on its new website, for people to submit comments and questions about the reactor design to the company. Feedback will be used to inform the regulators’ assessments throughout the process.
Safety and regulatory affairs director Helena Perry said: “This is a huge stride forward for our project and, through the independent scrutiny of our regulators, further increases confidence in the viability of the Rolls-Royce SMR design.
“Rolls-Royce SMR has unmatched experience in GDA, international licensing and permitting. We are using all the knowledge and learning from our uniquely skilled team to move at pace through the GDA process – bringing us closer to our vision of providing clean, affordable energy for all and providing a British solution to a global energy crisis.”
Rob Exley, ONR's head of GDA, said: "The purpose of GDA is to determine whether the design meets our robust safety, security, safeguards and environmental protection standards in Great Britain.
"We are working together with the Environment Agency and NRW to ensure Rolls-Royce SMR Ltd understand and meet our regulatory expectations for its proposed reactor design. As nuclear regulators, we recognise that we are acting in the interests of the public and, as such, this period of scrutiny will be open, transparent and provide regular opportunities for meaningful engagement with interested parties throughout the GDA process.”
Andrew Pynn, the Environment Agency’s strategy and policy lead for the Rolls-Royce SMR GDA, said: “We’re assessing the environmental acceptability of a new reactor design from Rolls-Royce SMR Ltd. Our team of specialist assessors will identify any issues or concerns we have with the design and will work with the company to make sure it understands our expectations to ensure the protection of communities and the environment.
“GDA is an enabling and efficient approach, helping to ensure that new nuclear power stations will meet high standards of safety, security, environmental protection and waste management.
“Public and stakeholder engagement is important to us. We’re encouraging people to get involved in the comments process, which begins today, by reviewing the information on the company’s website and providing your comments which are viewed by the regulators.
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