After the decision on the design and capacity of the first NPP to be installed in the country is made, an appropriate site for the NPP is to be selected. For this purpose it is advisable to first identify a few candidate sites that meet the basic criteria for setting up a NPP. This can be done by a team of national experts who have the knowledge and experience in similar work performed earlier for locating thermal power plants, hydroelectric power stations and other conventional industries. Expertise in specific scientific fields related to siting is also likely to be available in various national sci­entific and academic institutions, and personnel from such institutions should be appropriately included in the work. It may still be necessary to include a few experts from outside and if necessary the report of the national team may be subjected to a peer review. However, it is essential that national expertise in all relevant areas for site selection be developed at the earliest. This can possibly be done during the time when the docu­ment detailing the design requirements of the proposed NPP that defines its technical parameters including its power rating is being developed.

The regulatory body should also obtain the required technical know-how for safety evaluation of the proposed site at an early date and should develop a core group for the purpose. This group will carry out the initial safety evaluation of siting proposals and provide support to the expert com­mittee constituted by the regulatory body to perform the detailed safety evaluation for consideration of licensing of the site.