Areva, Westinghouse Nuclear Reactor Designs Likely to Win U.K. Approval
Areva SA’s EPR and Westinghouse Electric Co.’s AP1000 nuclear reactor designs are likely to be approved for use in the U.K. next year, the country’s Health and Safety Executive said.
“Both reactor designs are capable of being shown to be acceptable in the U.K., subject to satisfactory progress being made on the not insignificant technical issues we have raised,” the authority said in its quarterly update on the design assessment process.
Health and environment regulators are assessing the Areva and Westinghouse designs as utilities including Electricite de France SA, E.ON AG and RWE AG consider building nuclear power plants in the U.K. The country approved 10 sites for nuclear development this year and the first station will be operating by 2018, Energy Secretary Chris Huhne said this month.
Nuclear reactors account for about a fifth of the U.K.’s electricity production, according to the World Nuclear Association.
Today’s health executive report covered the three month period ended June 30. Additional safety work may be carried out after the assessment is completed in June, the authority said.
To contact the reporter on this story: Kari Lundgren in London at klundgren2@bloomberg.net
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