London (Platts)--13Dec2012/847 am EST/1347 GMT

Regulators have approved the nuclear reactor design proposed by French companies EDF and Areva for nuclear power plants in the UK, paving the way for a final investment decision on EDF Energy's planned nuclear plant at Hinkley Point in Somerset.

The Office for Nuclear Regulation and the Environment Agency announced Thursday that they will issue the European pressurized water reactor (EPR) design a Design Acceptance Confirmation and Statement of Design Acceptability, respectively, completing a four-year Generic Design Assessment (GDA) process.

"This certification recognises that the EPR design meets the UK's stringent safety requirements as assessed by the joint regulators," EDF Energy said in a statement.

"It has been demonstrated that the design is robust even when challenged by extreme events such as those seen following the Fukushima incident in 2011," the utility said.

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Completion of the GDA was the second of two major regulatory approvals EDF and minority partner Centrica -- acting through their 80:20 subsidiary NNB Genco -- needed before they can take the final investment decision on the GBP14 billion ($23 billion) project, which they hope to do this year. The design announcement follows licensing confirmation in late November, when the Office of Nuclear Regulation said it had issued NNB Genco a nuclear site license for Hinkley Point.

"The acceptance of the design for the EPR reactor is a major achievement and milestone for our new nuclear project in Somerset," said EDF Energy CEO Vincent de Rivaz. "It highlights our credibility and that of the EPR design, as well as demonstrating that the UK has a credible policy and regulatory framework in place," he said.

De Rivaz added that its original cost assessments provided to the government were unchanged, and said successful completion of the GDA process offered "a huge boost for the predictability of costs."

Areva CEO Luc Oursel said: "I am delighted by the UK regulators' decision to approve the design of our reactor. This is an additional proof of its pre-eminence in terms of safety and performance. Areva looks forward to supporting the UK nuclear industry together with the UK-based companies."

The final pending regulatory approval will be from the Planning Inspectorate, which is due to give its verdict on whether the project should go ahead before Christmas.

--Anna Crowley, anna_crowley@platts.com
--Edited by Jonathan Fox, jonathan_fox@platts.com

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