| PLANT AGEING & LIFE MANAGEMENT
Beyond Nuclear, and Miami Waterkeeper — and in February the NRC staff ruled that it could only be used in initial licence renewals, not SLRs that extend operation beyond 60 years. The NRC ruling said, “As a result, the environmental review of the subsequent license renewal application at issue in this case is incomplete”.
All in the language The problem is apparently not technical but one of legal and procedural language. When NRC Chairman Chris Hanson agreed that the GEIS could not be applied, he said: “My decision is based on a legal conclusion and does not reflect a policy position on the merits of SLR or a determination that properly supported generic environmental findings cannot be applied to SLRs. I am committed to assuring that the agency provides clear direction to licensees regarding pending applications.” That got short shrift from the industry. US NEI chief
nuclear officer Doug True told POWER magazine that the “technicality in the wording of the rule” had the result that “the licence renewals for a number of reactors may be delayed, including applications that have already been through rigorous technical review and approved by the NRC”.
The NRC has told staff to review and update the 2013- GEIS so it will cover the SLR period. “We believe the most efficient way to proceed is to direct the staff to review and update the 2013 GEIS, then take appropriate action with respect to the pending subsequent licence renewal applications to ensure that the environmental impacts for the period of subsequent license renewal are considered,” it said.
The setback in itself should not halt SLR programmes, but it will delay them. The appetite for nuclear at federal level has not diminished. Recent support from both House and Senate for investing in infrastructure has specifically included a role for nuclear in producing ‘green’ (ie carbon- free) hydrogen and its role in producing low-carbon power has been implicitly acknowledged, in calling for environment reports
But there are several plant owners who want to move
forward with the SLR process now — St Lucie 1&2, Oconee 1,2, and 3, Point Beach 1&2, and North Anna 1&2 have all submitted applications over the last two years — and it leaves them with an uneasy choice. They can wait until the NRC staff has revised the GEIS
— likely to be a protracted process, taking up to three years, with consultation periods that may present extra uncertainty. Alternatively, the NRC said “we understand that an
applicant may not wish to wait for the completion of the generic analysis and associated rulemaking. In that case, the applicant may submit a revised environmental report providing information on environmental impacts during the subsequent licence renewal period. In such a case, petitioners or intervenors will be given an opportunity to submit new or amended contentions based on new information in the revised site-specific environmental impact statement.” That is likely to prove still less certain. The NRC has come under fire for its decision, with some pointing out that the language at issue should have been updated during previous revisions (it has been revised several times, most recently in 2013). Opposition has even come from within its own commissioners. One commissioner who did not agree with the decisions said it was “arbitrary, inconsistent with the Principles of Good Regulation,” and added that it “undermines the NRC’s role as an effective and credible regulator”. The reversal sets an unfortunate precedent. In general,
nuclear plant owners need visibility of NRC requirements years ahead of time so they can plan for SLR — or, if it seems a further extension will not be feasible, plan an ‘end of life’ strategy. That decision point is not far off in nuclear industry terms — the US Department of Energy says that with 88 of the USA’s 93 reactors now within their first extension period, the majority will be nearing the end of that 20-year extension in the 2030s. Several plants that will be seeking to renew their licence a second time, for another 20-year period, have less than eight years to prepare and submit their application, and process it at US NRC. ■
12 Reactors that have received subsequent licence renewal 10 8 6 4 2 0 Year operating licence expires Above: Expiry dates of current operating reactor licences Source: US Nuclear Regulatory Commission, US Nuclear Energy Institute
www.neimagazine.com | April 2022 | 39
Number of reactors
2024 2025 2026 2029 2030 2031 2032 2033 2034 2035 2036 2037 2038 2040 2041 2042 2043 2044 2045 2046 2047 2048 2049
2050 2052 2053 2054 2055
Turkey Point 3 / Surrey 1 Turkey Point 4 / Peach Bottom 2 / Surrey 2 Peach Bottom 3
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