The Nuclear Regulatory Commission said Wednesday that it would begin a full certification review of the APR-1400 Advanced Power Reactor on behalf of the Korea Electric Power Corp. and Korea Hydro and Nuclear Power, which submitted an application for review in December 2014.
The first step in the review process is to see if the application is complete enough to initiate the actual review. The NRC acknowledged Wednesday that the review could begin and indicated this in a letter to Korea Hydro and Nuclear Power Executive Vice President Dr. Ha-Hwang Jung and Korea Electric Power Corp. Executive Vice President and Chief Nuclear Officer Dr. Hee-Yong Lee.
The reactor design was first certified by the Korean Institute of Nuclear Safety in May 2002. The advanced light-water reactor, a variation of the OPR-1000 design, is based on the KSNP design.
With construction almost completed, the Shin-Kori 3 reactor in South Korea is expected to be commercially viable by the end of the year. The Shin-Kori 4 unit is expected to be commercially viable in 2016. These are expected to be the first APR-1400 reactors to go on line.
KEPCO is leading a consortium of firms contracted to build four APR-1400 reactors at Barakah in the United Arab Emirates. Construction began in July 2012 and May 2013, respectively, for the first two reactors as part of a $20 billion contract that is aiming for a 5.6 GWe total.
According to the International Atomic Energy Agency, Shin-Kori 3 will have a design net capacity of 1400 MWe, a gross capacity of 1400 MWe and a thermal capacity of 3983 MWt . Shin-Kori 4 is listed with a design net capacity of 1340 MWe, gross capacity of 1400 MWe and thermal capacity of 3938 MWt.
The reactor core of the APR1400 consists of 241 fuel assemblies each with 236 fuel rods and 5 guide tubes.
Along with 43 design points aimed at increasing safety and economic viability, the APR 1400 is expected to operate for 60 years with 10 times lower probabilities of core damage and accidental radiation release than the current designs, according to the Korean Hydro & Nuclear Power Co.