A Plant Parameter Envelope Approach to the Impact Assessment for Nuclear Reactors: Opportunities and Risks

Abstract

The concept of a Plant Parameter Envelope (PPE) was developed in the United States for use in the Early Site Permit (ESP) process to resolve siting and environmental issues at a particular site before a reactor design has been chosen. The PPE is a listing of values that can be used in environmental and license applications to assist in predicting the potential safety and environmental effects of a nuclear generating station at a particular site.

The PPE concept is consistent with the Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission (CNSC) guidance and has successfully been used on the Darlington New Nuclear Project (DNNP) in obtaining the License to Prepare Site (LTPS). It is expected that nuclear utilities will continue to use a PPE approach in siting new reactors to mitigate the cost and schedule risk of completing an Impact Assessment for a specific technology which may change as the project develops.

This particular paper will examine the opportunities and risks of utilizing a PPE approach for new nuclear deployment including deployment of Small Modular Reactors (SMRs) and Advanced Modular Reactors (AMRs).