Dive Brief:
- Exelon Corp. announced yesterday it will apply for a license extension at its Peach Bottom nuclear plant in Pennsylvania, citing the state's Clean Power Plan goals as one factor in keeping the facility operating, Bloomberg reports.
- Peach Bottom’s operating licenses have already been extended once, and its two current operating licenses will expire in 2033 and 2034. Exelon's relicensing request would allow the plant to operate for 80 years; so far, plants have only been licensed to run up to 60 years.
- The announcement comes less than a week after Exelon decided to close its Clinton and Quad Cities plants in Illinois, after legislation to support them failed to move forward.
Dive Insight:
Exelon President and CEO Chris Crane said carbon reduction goals in Pennsylvania will support his company's Peach Bottom facility, meaning the company will seek to extend its operations another two decades.
“This application is great news for Peach Bottom workers, our neighbors and the state’s economy,” Crane in a statement. “Pennsylvania will soon be crafting ambitious but attainable carbon reduction goals to meet the requirements of the Environmental Protection Agency’s Clean Power Plan. Exelon’s nuclear stations—including Peach Bottom—can help the state meet those goals and continue powering the economy for decades to come.”
The decision comes about a week after Exelon said it would shutter two plants in Illinois, after the state failed to advance legislation to support the plants. The company said the Clinton and Quad Cities nuclear plants have lost a combined $800 million in the past seven years. The facilities failed to clear in the recent PJM Interconnection forward capacity auction.
Crane painted the decision in Pennsylvania as a win for the local economy, saying the decision to continue operating Peach Bottom would preserve thousands of jobs and provide long-term support for Pennsylvania’s economy. The facility employs more than 800 full-time workers, and annual refueling attracts more than 2,500 additional workers to the plant.
Exelon said it will notify the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission in the next few weeks of its intent to file a formal application in 2018. The company anticipates a decision by 2020 or 2021.
The Peach Bottom facility, in Delta, Pa., has a capacity of 2,599 MW and is online about 93% of the time. The two operating units began commercial operations in 1974. An experimental first unit operated from 1967 to 1974.
