Company also plans to file application for Dresden reactors
Baltimore, US-based power utility Constellation has filed a licence renewal application with the US Nuclear Regulatory Commission for its Clinton-1 nuclear power plant in Illinois, seeking a 20-year extension.
The single-unit Clinton plant is a 1,062-MW boiling water reactor (BWR) unit which started commercial operation in 1987. It is currently licensed to operate until April 2027. The licence renewal, if approved, would extend to 2047.
Later this year Constellation is scheduled to file a second licence renewal for its two-unit Dresden nuclear power station, also in Illinois, which would allow Unit 2 to operate until 2049, and Unit 3 to operate until 2051.
Dresden-2 and -3 are BWR units with capacities of 894 MW and 879 MW. They have been in commercial operation since 1970 and 1971.
The move, announced in 2022 along with the plans to extend the life of the Clinton plant, marked a reversal in fortune for both power plants, which were on the road to early retirement due to unfavourable economics less than two years before the announcement.
The continued operation of Clinton has been enabled by state legislation enacted in 2016, and the enactment of the federal nuclear production tax credit in 2022 extended policy support until 2032.
