Approval would extend potential operating life to 2050
The US Nuclear Regulatory Commission has received a subsequent licence renewal application for the single-unit Monticello nuclear power station in Minnesota.
Notice of the agency’s receipt of the application was published in the Federal Register on 31 January.
Monticello’s initial licence renewal was approved in November 2006, permitting it to operate for 20 years beyond its original expiry date of 2010.
A subsequent approval would extend its operating life to September 2050 – or close to the maximum of 80 years, although operator Northern States Power Company, a subsidiary of owner Xcel Energy, has said it plans to keep Monticello in service to 2040.
The 628-MW boiling water reactor unit, supplied by General Electric, began commercial operation in 1971.
Should the NRC approve the application for docketing, Monticello will join nine other units under subsequent licence renewal review: North Anna-1 and -2; Oconee-1, -2, and -3; Point Beach-1 and -2; and St. Lucie-1 and -2.
Northern States Power also operates Minnesota’s other nuclear power station, Prairie Island, which has two Westinghouse-supplied pressurised water reactors of 522 MW and 510 MW.
