NRC to focus attention on integral PWRs

摘要

In the active but still developing realm of small modular reactors (SMR), the Nuclear Regulatory Commission has made its clearest statement to date on which designs will be given highest priority as the designers prepare to seek approval or certification-at least during the pre-application period that is expected to continue for the next year or two.rnIn letters dated May 18 to five organizations that are developing SMR designs, Michael E. Mayfield, director of the Advanced Reactor Program in the NRC's Office of New Reactors, stated that in its current SMR work, the NRC is "primarily focused on our preparations related to the Next Generation Nuclear Plant [NGNP] program and integral pressurized water reactors." This puts Babcock & Wilcox Nuclear Power Generation Group and NuScale Power, both of whom are working on integral PWRs, ahead of the other three in the queue-GE Hitachi Nuclear Energy, Hyperion Power, and Toshiba Corporation.