US regulator completes first SMR design certification rulemaking
The US Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) has issued the final rule certifying NuScale Power’s small modular reactor (SMR), making it the seventh reactor design – and the first SMR – to be cleared by the regulator for use in the USA. The final rulemaking is the last stage in the design certification process, which allows a utility to reference the design when applying for a combined licence to build and operate a nuclear power plant anywhere in the USA. Site-specific licensing procedures must still be completed and a combined construction and operating licence obtained before construction can begin. The NRC accepted NuScale’s design certification application for a plant comprising up to twelve 50 MWe power modules in March 2018. The regulator issued its final technical review in August 2020, and the NRC Commission voted to certify the design in July 2022. The company has subsequently uprated the capacity of the power unit to 77MWe and earlier this month submitted an application for NRC approval of a 6-unit configuration based on the uprated design. NuScale’s SMR plant has been known as VOYGR since December 2021. NuScale Power President and CEO John Hopkins described the rulemaking as „historic” and acknowledged the role of the US Department Energy (DOE), which has provided more than USD600 million since 2014 to support the design, licensing, and siting of VOYGR and other domestic SMR concepts. Az amerikai szabályozó hatóság befejezi az első SMR tervezési tanúsítási szabályalkotást: Szabályozás és biztonság – World Nuclear News (world-nuclear-news.org)
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