The Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) has issued key safety and design approvals for the Advanced Power Reactor 1400 (APR1400), a South Korean third-generation nuclear reactor design. The U.S. regulatory body on September 28 issued a final safety evaluation report and a standard design approval (SDA) for the APR1400, which is designed by South Korean state-owned companies Korea Electric Power Corp. (KEPCO) and Korea Hydro and Nuclear Power Co. (KHNP). The companies submitted a design certification application for the APR1400 in December 2014. Despite issuance of the safety evaluation report and SDA, the NRC has yet to complete its certification process, however. The first of four APR1400 reactors under construction at the Barakah plant in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) was completed this March, but commercial start-up has been delayed to between the end of 2019 and early 2020, Nawah Energy Company, the operator of the Barakah Nuclear Energy Plant, said in May 2018. The delays are pegged to training issues. “The resulting projection for the start-up of Unit 1 operations reflects the time required for the plants nuclear operators to complete operational readiness activities and to obtain necessary regulatory approvals,”
Power Mag 6th Oct 2018 read more »