UK EPR ™ - Generic Design Assessment

AREVA and EDF established a team to achieve, as co-applicants, Generic Design Assessment (GDA) for a UK EPR™ reactor.

EDF
EDF operates over 1,200,000 km of low and medium voltage overhead and underground electricity lines and around 100,000 km of high and very high voltage networks. The Group is involved in supplying energy and services to close to 40 million customers around the world, including more than 28 million in France and over 5 million in the UK.

EDF operates the largest fleet of nuclear plants in the world.  58 reactors in France provide an installed capacity of 63.1 GW and rank France as the second largest electronuclear power generator behind the United States.  A further 15 reactors are operated by EDF Energy in the UK, and which have a combined capacity of almost 9000MW.

AREVA
All over the world, AREVA provides its customers with solutions for carbon-free power generation. With its knowledge and expertise in this field, the group has a leading role to play in meeting the world’s energy needs. Ranked first in the global nuclear power industry, AREVA's unique integrated offering covers every stage of the fuel cycle, reactor design and construction, and related services. In addition, the group is expanding its operations in renewable energies, including biomass, wind power and fuel cells. Sustainable development is a core component of the group’s industrial strategy. Its 48,000 employees work to make AREVA a responsible industrial player helping to supply ever cleaner, safer and more economical energy to the greatest number of people.
http://www.areva.com/

AREVA has built or is building more than 100 reactors worldwide, of which 91, representing nearly 103 GW, are currently in operation, with a further four due to come on-line in the coming years.

EDF Energy
EDF Energy is a wholly-owned subsidiary of EDF Group. It is one of the UK's largest energy companies and employs nearly 20000 people across the UK. EDF Energy is a vertically integrated company with a balanced portfolio of business throughout the energy chain from generation through to supply.

It is the largest electricity producer in the UK and the largest generator of low carbon electricity in Britain. The company produces around one-fifth of the nation's electricity from our nuclear, coal and gas power stations, as well as combined heat and power plants and wind farms. 

EDF Energy is committed to promoting a low carbon future through a diverse and sustainable energy mix including renewables, clean coal, gas and nuclear as well as greater energy efficiency.

EDF Energy currently operates 15 reactors at eight nuclear power plants across the UK, and plans to build two new power stations, with four generating units, with the first unit operational by the end of 2017.

EDF Energy Renewables operates onshore windfarms around the country, with a portfolio of around 150MW of projects already in service, and around a further 200MW of consented projects.
 
Construction is underway of a 1300MW gas-fired CCGT power station at West Burton.  Two coal fired power stations are also operated by EDF Energy, with Flue Gas Desulphurisation installed across the fleet, which reduces sulphur dioxide emissions by up to 94%.

We provide power to a quarter of the UK’s population via our electricity distribution networks and supply gas and electricity to over 5.5 million business and residential customers. The company is a key player in national infrastructure projects including management of private electricity networks serving four London airports and the Channel Tunnel Rail Link, the country’s first major new railway in 100 years.
 
AREVA

UK Presence. AREVA’s presence covers all UK nuclear activities and an increasing UK presence in the renewable energies sector.
 
New Build.  AREVA & EDF are a joint Requesting Party for the EPR™ reactor within the GDA process, and the AREVA EPR™ reactor is being considered by  other major utilities for UK new build projects. For these multiple projects AREVA has teamed up with major UK companies, like for engineering and supply, Rolls-Royce, with whom AREVA signed a landmark agreement at the UK/French Summit in Paris in February. AREVA UK expects that a substantial proportion of the new build programme will be supplied by British companies. On 12 December, AREVA will announce the signature of MOUs with a further 24 UK suppliers. On skills and training, AREVA has joined the Board of the National Skills Academy for Nuclear, and is in serious dialogue with other leading academic/skills organisation.

Fuel cycle. AREVA’s presence includes 15 years of refuelling activities for the Sizewell B nuclear power plant.  AREVA is a partner with AMEC and the URS Corporation in the Nuclear Management Partners (NMP) consortium, responsible for management and operations at the Sellafield site. AREVA is also a partner in Nuclear Waste Management Ltd which operates the UK Low Level Waste Repository at Drigg in West Cumbria with its partners URS, Studsvik and Serco Assurance. In September AREVA set up a UK Partnership with Atkins to develop UK fuel cycle and waste management/decommissioning projects. 

Nuclear Services. AREVA, in partnership with BNS and Doosan Babcock, supplies outages and maintenance services at the Sizewell B nuclear power plant, until 2015. 

Support Services. AREVA Risk Management Consultants provides specialist nuclear safety & environmental assessment services.

Renewables. AREVA is increasing its UK presence in offshore wind turbines and bio-energy, and on 19 November signed a major MOU in the presence of Scottish First Minister Alex Salmond for the development of offshore wind business in Scotland.

The two companies have worked together on the EPR™ design for many years and recognise the strong qualities of its evolutionary design.

The joint application brought together the strengths of a vendor who is already building the EPR™ reactor in Finland, who has gained or is gaining experience with licensing process underway in the USA, France, China and Finland and, a utility which is the largest operator of nuclear power plants in the world and which has started construction of the EPR™ reactor in Normandy, France, in 2007.

The partnership demonstrates the confidence both vendor and operator have in the EPR™ design. AREVA and EDF have long lasting worldwide experience and expertise.

EDF and AREVA have jointly managed the generic design assessment of EPR™ design in order to achieve the UK EPR™ Design Acceptance Confirmation (DAC) from ONR and Statement of Design Acceptability (SoDA) from Environment Agency as quickly and as efficiently as possible. The joint approach has been clearly focused on the GDA process and not on any subsequent industrial arrangements. On completion of design assessment, AREVA will have the rights to sell EPR™ reactors to any potential UK licensee. Similarly EDF will not be committed to using the EPR™ technology in any future nuclear power station it may build.

In addition, during the GDA process, AREVA has managed an Alliance with potential UK EPR™ reactor nuclear operators who wished to gain sufficient technical knowledge for it to be judged as an “intelligent customer”, the expectation of the UK regulators being that any utility which operates nuclear power plants will have a proficient understanding of the plant technology being used.

The major European utilities who have expressed their support of the pre-licensing of the EPR™ reactor in the UK (British Energy, Centrica, E.ON, EDF, Iberdrola, RWE, Scottish&Southern Energy, Endesa, Suez, Union Fenosa and Vattenfall).

It is for the regulator to review the designs and determine suitability for use in the UK.

AMEC plc provides technical support to EDF and AREVA relative to the UK context as the EPR™ design will be assessed against UK standards and rules.

AMEC is the largest UK-based private sector supplier of project management and engineering services to the nuclear sector. The business builds on AMEC’s 50 years experience in the nuclear market and clients include BNFL, British Energy, UKAEA, AWE Aldermaston and a wide range of international nuclear utilities.

During GDA AREVA received letters of endorsement in the Generic Design Assessment process from other utilities: British Energy , Centrica, E.ON, EDF, Iberdrola, RWE, Scottish&Southern Energy, Endesa, Suez, Union Fenosa et Vattenfall. AREVA formed an alliance of these utilities with the specific objective of supporting them to attain “intelligent customer status", the expectation of the UK regulators being that any utility which operates nuclear power plants will have a proficient understanding of the plant technology being used.