Davis Besse seeks life extension

Wednesday, 1 September 2010 First Energy Nuclear Operating Company (Fenoc) has applied to extend the Davis Besse nuclear power plant's license by 20 years. Should the Nuclear Regulatory Commission grant the request, the pressurized water reactor could operate until 2037. The request comes shortly after Fenoc decided to replace the reactor's vessel head due to cracking around control rod drive mechanism nozzles. This was discovered in February and took until July to repair. The current vessel head itself is a replacement for one that suffered major corrosion in 2002. The reactor is currently operating at its full rated capacity of 908MWe.