The US Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) has approved DTE Energy's combined construction and operation licence (COL) for Fermi 3, the first construction licence to be awarded to GE Hitachi's economic simplified boiling water reactor (ESBWR) reactor design. The licence, which NRC says will be issued promptly, will authorise DTE Energy to build and operate the unit at a site adjacent to its operating Fermi 2 boiling water reactor on the shores of Lake Erie. The COL references GE Hitachi Nuclear Energy (GEH)'s ESBWR, which received design certification from the NRC in September 2014. The 1600MWe reactor includes passive safety features which would allow it to cool itself without the need for external electricity supplies or human intervention, and also uses fewer pumps and mechanical drives than reactors with so-called active safety systems. According to GEH, the ESBWR also offers the lowest projected operating, maintenance and staffing costs in the nuclear industry on a per-kilowatt basis.
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