Regulators have given the green light to Hitachi-GE's design of the UK Advanced Boiling Water Reactor (UK ABWR).

Regulators confirmed the nuclear power station is suitable for construction in the UK, following the completion of an advanced assessment of the nuclear reactor design.

The Office for Nuclear Regulation (ONR), the Environment Agency and Natural Resources Wales, are satisfied that the reactor meets regulatory expectations on safety, security and environmental protection at this stage of the regulatory process.

ONR has issued a Design Acceptance Confirmation (DAC) and the environment agencies have issued a Statement of Design Acceptability (SoDA) to Hitachi-GE.

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Dr Jo Nettleton, Deputy Director for Radioactive Substances and Installations Regulation at the Environment Agency said: "We've concluded that the generic design of the UK ABWR should be capable of meeting the high standards of environment protection and waste management that we require in the UK. We only came to this conclusion after carefully reviewing the submissions provided by Hitachi-GE and their responses to the questions and issues we raised. We've also carefully considered all the comments we received from people during our public consultation and we’re grateful for all who took part for taking time to respond."

Mark Foy, ONR's Chief Nuclear Inspector said: "The completion of the generic design assessment of the UK ABWR is a significant step in our regulation of the overall process to construct this type of reactor in the UK, ensuring that the generic design meets the highest standards of safety that we expect in this country. We’re already working on our assessment of Horizon’s site licence application and on the development of the site specific safety case to progress, in due course, the construction and operation of these reactors at Wylfa Newydd."

(CD)