LONDON (Reuters) - Britain's nuclear regulator said it may resolve all its issues regarding plans for a new nuclear power plant at Hinkley Point C by the end of the year.
The Office of Nuclear Regulation said on Tuesday that two Generic Design Assessment (GDA) issues had been closed. The regulator had raised them earlier this year with French energy companies EDF and Areva with regards to the design of a third-generation nuclear reactor at Hinkley Point Somerset, England.
The issues included concerns about monitoring of irradiation damage to material and evidence that concrete used at the reactor provided adequate shielding to ensure that workers and the public would be protected from radiation.
The regulator said work was ongoing with EDF, Areva and Centrica's joint venture company, NNB Generation Company, on improvements that would increase confidence it would be able to safely operate the new plant.
"If EDF and AREVA sustain these improvements for the significant number of submissions that are still to be delivered, and if they remain responsive to any questions that we raise, then we believe that the programs that are set out in the revised resolution plans can be achieved," the Office of Nuclear Regulation said.
"In that case, and if we are satisfied by the safety, security and environmental arguments that they put forward, we might be able to close all of the remaining GDA Issues by the end of the year," it added.
Areva and EDF welcomed the report.
"We are pleased that the efforts have resulted in major progress towards securing GDA acceptance within the next few months," Areva UK's Chairman Alain-Pierre Raynaud said in a separate statement.
"We, and our partners Centrica, aim to take our final investment decision at the end of this year. It is vital that momentum is maintained in the legislative process and that we maintain the momentum in the licensing process," said Humphrey Cadoux-Hudson, EDF Energy's managing director of nuclear new build.
(Reporting by Henning Gloystein, editing by Jane Baird)
