The Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission (CNSC) has completed Phase 2 of a Pre-Project Design Review of Candu Energy Inc.’s Enhanced CANDU 6 (EC6) reactor. The CNSC has concluded that there are no fundamental barriers to licensing the EC6 design in Canada.
“The CNSC has determined in this Phase 2 stage of their review that overall, the design intent of the EC6 complies with their regulatory requirements and expectations,” said Candu Chief Nuclear Engineer Frank Yee. “With this achievement, our Generation III EC6 has completed the key step for licensing consideration of a nuclear power plant in Canada.”
The objective of a Pre-Project Design Review is to verify the acceptability of a nuclear power plant design with respect to Canadian regulatory requirements and expectations. In Phase 2, the focus was on identifying any potential fundamental barriers to licensing the EC6 design in Canada.
The conclusion follows the earlier Phase 1 Pre-Project Design Review of the EC6, which was completed by the CNSC in 2010.
“The EC6 design is an evolutionary design,” said Yee. “It benefits from having its design based on our CANDU 6 technology, which has been proven highly successful, with 11 units licensed and operating in five countries.”
The Pre-Project Design Review also opens up opportunities for international CANDU sales, by serving as the reference for other regulators to accelerate licensing in their countries.
Phase 3 of the Pre-Project Design Review will allow Candu to provide the CNSC with further information requested in Phase 2, particularly completion of the research and development program and the resolution of some findings and technical clarifications, including Candu’s response to the Fukushima event.