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| licensing |
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| Pebble Bed Modular Reactor (SOC) Ltd. was engaged on multiple
projects that will further the development and deployment of the PBMR
design, both in South Africa and in the international community. |
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| Within South Africa, the National Nuclear Regulator (NNR) – an
independent statutory body established under the National Nuclear
Regulator Act, Act 47 of 1999 – is responsible for issuing licenses
related to the siting, design, construction, operation, decontamination,
decommissioning and closure of any nuclear installation. PBMR was
actively working with the NNR and with Eskom, the national electricity
provider, in establishing and updating the safety documentation needed
to support licensing of the PBMR Demonstration Power Plant (DPP) project
to be sited at Koeberg near Cape Town, South Africa. |
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| Eskom, as applicant and future licence holder, was responsible for
submitting all licensing documentation to the NNR that was needed for the
NNR to grant the Nuclear Installation Licence for the DPP. PBMR was
supporting Eskom in these activities, to include the development of
strategies to resolve the set of Key Licensing Issues that have been
defined for the project, the completion of a Safety Analysis Report
(SAR), and the submittal of supporting documents that, together with the
SAR, fully describe the Safety Case for the PBMR Demonstration Power
Plant. Additionally, PBMR and Eskom were reviewing with the NNR a series
of Requirements Documents, License Documents, and License Guides that
will form the regulatory requirements set for the design, construction,
startup, and safe operation of the DPP. |
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| PBMR was also working with Necsa (previously known as the Nuclear
Energy Corporation of South Africa) to develop the safety case for a
Pilot Fuel Plant to be sited at Pelindaba near Pretoria, South Africa.
This Pilot Fuel Plant was intended to demonstrate the quality processes needed for
large scale fuel sphere manufacturing. The license application for the
Pilot Fuel Plant was submitted to the NNR. The Safety Analysis
Report was scheduled for formal submittal to the regulator
in April 2009, and the construction license was targeted for the
end of 2009. The first fuel of PBMR origin – to the final, highly
successful German specifications – was being manufactured in an Advance
Fuel Development Laboratory and has under gone successful
irradiation testing. |
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| Internationally, PBMR was in pre-application discussions with the US
Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) that would culminate in the submittal
of a formal application for design certification of the PBMR reactor
design. These interactions with the NRC was intended to further the international
recognition of PBMR technology and help establish the PBMR as the lead
Generation IV High Temperature Gas-cooled Reactor (HTGR) design. |
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