Exelon, which announced the premature closing of two nuclear power plants last week, said Tuesday that it would seek an additional 20-year operating license for the Peach Bottom Atomic Power Station in Pennsylvania.
The announcement was made by Exelon President and Chief Executive Officer Chris Crane during an event in the Capital Rotunda in Harrisburg, Pa.
Crane said the application for a 20-year extension was “great news for Peach Bottom workers, our neighbors and the state's economy.”
Although the federal Clean Power Plan is under review by the Justice Department, Crane noted that the power plant 18 miles south of Lancaster, Pa., on the west bank of the Conowingo Pond (Susquehanna River) in York County, would help Pennsylvania succeed with its “ambitious, but attainable goals to meet the requirements of the Environmental Projection Agency's Clean Power Plan.”
Peach Bottom includes 800 full time employees and requires help of an additional 2,500 contracted employees during refueling and maintenance outages.
Exelon said it would inform the Nuclear Regulatory Commission of its intent to file a formal application for the license extension in 2017 with the expectation of a decision in 2020 or 2021.
The two General Electric Type 4 boiling water reactors at Peach Bottom, Units 2 and 3, both began operations in 1974. The current licenses expire in 2033 and 2034. If approved, the extended operating licenses will allow the plant's reactors to operate until 2053 and 2054, “as long as it continues to meet NRC's stringent requirements or safety and operational performance,” the company said.
Exelon last week announced that it would take steps to begin closing down the Quad Cities Generating Station and Clinton Power Station, both in Illinois, due to economic conditions. The two plants have lost a combined $800 million over the past seven years and the company indicated that the outcome of a legislative debate over a policy plan in the state capital – the Next Generation Energy Plan – was “not clear.” As such, the plants would close “despite being two of Exelon's best-performing plants.”
Energy deregulation, federal subsidies for renewable energy sources and low natural gas prices are creating a perfect storm of crippling conditions for some nuclear power plants.
Anonymous comments will be moderated. Join for free and post now!
