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Generic Design Assessment (GDA)

Generic Design Assessment (GDA), also known as pre-licensing, is intended to ensure that the technical aspects of designs for nuclear power plants are considered ahead of site-specific licence applications.

Regulators – the Environment Agency and the Nuclear Installations Inspectorate and the Health and Safety Executive: Office of Civil Nuclear Security (OCNS) - will decide which designs will receive final approval.

Four applications were received. The four designs were:

  • AECL’s ACR1000
  • AREVA’s EPR
  • GE-Hitachi’s ESBWR
  • Toshiba-Westinghouse’s AP1000

All met the eligibility criteria and were accepted by the regulators for the first phase of GDA, which finished in March 2008.

Following the withdrawal of AECL from the assessment process, the remaining three designs have proceeded to the next phase of the assessment, which started in June 2008, and will reach its conclusion around 2011.

We aim to ensure that regulators’ resources can be focused on those designs that are most likely to be built in the UK in the timeframe 2016 – 2022.

Further information about GDA is available on the Health and Safety Executive: UK Nuclear Regulators - New Reactor Assessment webpage.