Albert Wong Division of License Renewal Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation
The NRC’s operating licenses for commercial nuclear power reactors are valid for 40 years and may be renewed for an additional 20 years at a time. So far the agency has renewed 78 licenses and has applications for another 16 under review. We received the first license renewal application in April 1998, and we’re expecting to receive the last application for a first renewal sometime after 2020.
Today, Dominion Virginia Power announced that it expects to submit a subsequent license renewal application in 2019 – a renewal beyond the 60 years of operation from the first license and the initial renewal — for Surrey Power Station.
Subsequent renewal applications will be reviewed under the same regulations (10 CFR Part 54) as the initial renewals. That means they will get similar scrutiny for both safety (focusing on how the plant operators manage the effects of aging on certain plant components) and environmental impacts. There will also be opportunities for public input and hearings.
Of course, operating plants beyond 60 years may raise different technical issues for us to address in these reviews. So we are drawing on our experience with the initial license renewals, plant operating experience, ongoing research, and expert opinions to identify strategies for dealing with the challenges of extending operation to 80 years. Two draft guidance documents will be published in December 2015 for public comment. They are “Generic Aging Lessons Learned for Subsequent License Renewal Report” and the “Standard Review Plan for Review of Subsequent License Renewal Applications for Nuclear Power Plants.”
The final guidance documents – including responses to public comments and explanations of any changes from the drafts – will be published in time to support our review of subsequent license renewal application.
Plant operators applying for subsequent license renewal will need a detailed technical basis, along with associated research and “aging management programs,” to demonstrate how they will keep their plants operating safely during the additional 20 years. The NRC staff will give these applications the same thorough reviews we give initial renewals. We expect the reviews will take about two years, though the quality of the applications could affect the schedule.
The NRC is proactively preparing for anticipated subsequent license renewal applications and stands ready to ensure the continued safety of operating plants once applications are received.
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