The GDA process is intended to provide confidence to the UK government that the proposed reactor embodiment is capable of being constructed, operated and decommissioned in accordance with the highest standards of safety, security and environmental protection required in Great Britain.
In addition to evaluation of Holtec's SMR-300 technology, GDA 'Step 1' also made a positive assessment of the operational readiness of Holtec Britain. This regulatory assessment confirmed that Holtec Britain is a capable and competent nuclear organisation fully qualified and resourced to deliver major nuclear power projects in the United Kingdom.
Supported by a £60m investment, £30m of which was secured from the UK government's Future Nuclear Enabling Fund award last year (HH38.18), the Holtec Britain team has now more than tripled in size and has relocated its UK HQ to Bristol in the southwest of the country. The company said that it was pleased by the UK regulators' affirmative assessment of Holtec Britain, which is backed by its US parent – Holtec International (USA) – as well as Team Holtec members Hyundai Engineering and Construction Co. of Korea and Mitsubishi Electric Co. of Japan. Holtec's plan for the UK includes the establishment of a heavy manufacturing plant in the country to build SMR-300 components mirroring the Company's existing plants in the United States. Selection of the most suitable site for the manufacturing facility is underway.
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Dr Rick Springman, Holtec's President of Global Clean Energy Opportunities responsible for Holtec Britain voiced his optimism for the Company's SMR-300's prospects in the UK: "We are proud of our Holtec Britain organization for securing regulatory Step 1 endorsement in record time. We are confident of our capability to deliver SMR-300 plants in numbers needed by the country. It helps that our SMR-300 plant is premised on the PWR technology with which Great Britain is well versed in its civilian as well as naval nuclear program."
Holtec's SMR-300 is a 300 MWe small modular reactor that is ideally suited for distributed generation, which reduces dependence on heavy inter-regional transmission of electrical power thus improving the resilience and security of the power grid. It is uniquely qualified to reject its waste heat directly to air eliminating the need for time-consuming water use permits. The plant is quite compact requiring ~30 acres for two co-located units. Thanks to its low radiation accretion profile, even under the most severe postulated accident, the plant's controlled area suffices to serve as its exclusion boundary. Holtec is on track to begin the licensing and construction of two SMR-300 units at the Company's Palisades site. The shovel-to-startup life cycle of the first batch of SMR-300s is expected to be three years.
