[NRC, 13 March] The US Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) has renewed the operating licences of 48 of the country's nuclear power reactors for 20 years beyond their original 40-year operating terms. According to NRC Commissioner Jeffrey Merrifield, "absent some unforeseen circumstance, it appears that within a handful of years all 104 will either be allowed to continue to operate for 60 years or be in various stages of review." Speaking at the NRC's annual Regulatory Information Conference, Merrifield added, "I believe we need to begin the process of fully understanding what it would take to allow a further round of 20-year licence extensions." He said "the vast majority of nuclear power plants in the United States could be serious candidates for licence extension for up to 80 years of operation" and that the NRC "must prepare itself to consider that question." In March 2000, Baltimore Gas & Electric Co's two-unit Calvert Cliffs became the first nuclear power plant to be granted a licence renewal by the NRC.
Further information
US Nuclear Regulatory Commission
WNA's US Nuclear Power Industry information paper
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