In prior posts we have touched on the importance of prototype and test reactors in enabling the eventual commercialization of advanced reactors. To help in those efforts, the NRC recently issued early draft guidance on “Nuclear Power Reactor Testing Needs and Prototype Plants for Advanced Reactor Designs.” This document has been issued to support a public meeting on the topic, currently scheduled to occur sometime in August 2017.
As described by the NRC, this guidance describes the (i) “relevant regulations governing the testing requirements for advanced reactors,” (ii) “the process for determining testing needs to meet the NRC’s regulatory requirements,” (iii) “when a prototype plant might be needed and how it might differ from the proposed standard plant design,” and (iv) “licensing strategies and options that include the use of a prototype plant to meet the NRC’s testing requirements.”
To add, the document also provides some discussion as to the differences between prototype plants, demonstration reactors, test reactors, first-of-a-kind reactors, and other terms that are often thrown around in this space. It also discusses different categories of tests to be conducted, and provides an FAQ on the use of a prototype plant as part of a testing regime. Appendix A is an annotated reprint of a section of a 1991 staff paper, and is entitled “Process for Determining Testing Needs”; and Appendix B provides an interesting discussion on “Options For Using a Prototype Plant To Achieve a Design Certification or Standard Design Approval.”
For any questions on the above, please contact the authors.