Final licence for construction of PALLAS nuclear reactor
The Authority has granted the final licence for the construction of the PALLAS research reactor in Petten, in the Schagen Local Authority. It is the first time in many years that a licence for the construction of a new nuclear reactor has been granted in the Netherlands. This licence is available for inspection up to and including 30 March 2023: until that time, you can study the licence and lodge an appeal if you so wish. The licence is valid from 31 March 2023 (unless an application for injunctive relief is submitted).
From application to licence
On 15 June 2022, the Foundation Preparation PALLAS reactor applied to us for a licence pursuant to the Nuclear Energy Act. The Foundation needs this ‘establishment licence’ to construct a reactor for research and for the production of medical isotopes – radioactive materials that are used in nuclear medicine. The Foundation has also applied to the Directorate General for Public Works and Water Management (RWS) for a Water Act licence. This is needed because the reactor will use water from the Great North Holland Canal as cooling water. The cooling water is not radioactive and is discharged into the North Sea. RWS has now also granted the final licence for the PALLAS reactor, which is scheduled to replace the High Flux Reactor (HFR) in Petten.
Influence on the environment
The Foundation Preparation PALLAS reactor has issued an environmental impact assessment (EIA) to map the effects of the construction on the environment. The Foundation submitted the assessment report along with its licence applications. RWS and the Authority evaluated this report and then drew up draft licences: provisional versions of the final licences. From 21 October to 1 December 2022 everyone had the opportunity to respond (in official language, to submit an opinion).
Information supplemented after reactions
A question about nitrogen recurred several times in the reactions from local residents and other citizens: how will the nitrogen emitted by the reactor affect the dunes? The EIA Committee asked the same question. They were asked by the Authority to review the EIA and subsequently requested more information on this topic. Consequently, PALLAS provided a supplement to the EIA. The nitrogen issue does not come under the Nuclear Energy Act or the responsibilities of the Authority, but under the Nature Conservation Act. PALLAS already had a Nature Conservation Act licence. The information about nitrogen emission has, however, been augmented in order to make the EIA complete.
The EIA Committee also asked for more information to make PALLAS’s conclusion that safety risks and radiation exposure fall within the legal norms clearer in the EIA. In our opinion, these additions give the requested information about PALLAS’s analyses, which have already been reviewed by the Authority. So we have now granted the final licence.
Our explanations of these and other topics are given in the final licences and can be found in the chapter ‘Zienswijzen’ [Opinions]. The additions therefore provide greater detail. For the rest, the final licences contain the same requirements as those set out in the earlier draft licences.
Safety first
As an independent authority, the Authority guarantees that nuclear reactors in the Netherlands operate in accordance with all the national and/or international standards for nuclear safety and radiation protection. The licence application by PALLAS is the first in many years for the construction of a nuclear reactor. “Our licensors and lawyers have worked hard on the assessment of the PALLAS licence application,” says Board Member Marco Brugmans. “Including the preliminary consultation on the licence requirements, it took many years. PALLAS was required to demonstrate in great detail that the reactor can operate safely if it is built in this way. Now that all the necessary steps, including public participation, have been taken, we are granting the construction licence and we will ensure that PALLAS abides by the conditions we have imposed.”
Appeals can be submitted up to and including 30 March
Even though the final licence has been granted, you can still lodge an appeal. If you lodge an appeal, you can also apply for injunctive relief. You can lodge an appeal if our decision to grant this licence affects you directly. You can also lodge an appeal if you previously submitted a reaction (opinion). Or if you cannot reasonably be blamed for not submitting an opinion.
You then submit your notice of appeal to the Administrative Jurisdiction Division of the Council of State. You can do this in two ways:
Online: if you are a private citizen, you can log in with your DigiD to the digital service desk of the Council of State and submit your notice of appeal there.
By post: send your notice of appeal to Afdeling bestuursrechtspraak Raad van State, Postbus 20019, 2500 EA Den Haag.
Read more about it in the official notification.
One more licence needed
The licence now granted by the Authority means only that PALLAS is permitted to construct the reactor. To use the reactor another licence is needed for ‘commissioning’. A period of public participation is once again required before we can grant it. That will probably be in 2028.
More information about PALLAS? Read our answers to FAQs.