Toshiba's Westinghouse expects to receive approval from Britain's nuclear regulator for its AP1000 reactor design in the first quarter of next year, it said on Thursday.
The approval is a necessary step before the reactor can be used at NuGen's Moorside project in Cumbria, north west England, which is expected to generate around 7 percent of the country’s electricity when built around 2025.
"We are on track to achieve GDA (generic design assessment) in the first quarter of 2017," Jeffrey Benjamin, Westinghouse senior vice president, new plants and major projects, told reporters.
All new nuclear plants in Britain need to gain approval from its Office for Nuclear Regulation (ONR) through its GDA process, which typically takes around four years the ONR said.
Westinghouse's AP1000 approval however, has taken much longer since assessment, which first began in 2007. It was paused by the ONR at the end of December 2011 while it asked for some modifications to the design. The approval process resumed in 2014.
Benjamin described the reactor design changes made as "minor to moderate".
"Ultimately they are changes we are able to live with," he said, adding they related to some mechanical system alterations.
Benjamin also said the approval was a vital step needed for NuGen to take a final investment decision
Nugen, a joint venture between Toshiba and Engie had said it expected to make a final investment decision on the project in 2018.