Dominion Energy on Tuesday filed an application with the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission to renew the operating licenses for its Surry Power Station, Kallanish Energy reports.
The Virginia-based company wants to renew the licenses for the two-reactor nuclear power plant (NPP) acility for another 20 years,
The current permits allow Dominion Energy to operate Surry’s two reactors in southeast Virginia through 2032 and 2033, respectively. With renewed licenses, the two units could continue to produce power through 2052 and 2053, respectively.
The Surry plant is on the James River southwest of Williamsburg, Virginia.
Dominion Energy has also applied to seek a 20-year extension on its other nuclear plant, the North Anna Power Station, with its two units east of Charlottesville, Virginia, in Louisa County.
“Our application to renew Surry Power Station’s licenses for another 20-year period is good news for our customers, the regional economy and the environment,” said Dan Stoddard, Dominion Energy’s chief nuclear officer, in a statement.
Renewing the Surry licenses will position Virginia for economic growth and help Virginia remain a leader in clean energy, he said.
The federal licenses for the Surry plant were renewed for 20 additional years in March 2003. The plant in Surry County began service in 1972-1973.
The units at Surry Power Station are both three-loop Westinghouse pressurized water reactors, capable of producing 1,676 net megawatts, or about 14% of the electricity used in Virginia, the company said.
According to the company, 31% of its electricity comes from nuclear power, down from 41% in 2013. It gets 30% of its electricity from natural gas.
Dominion Energy said it could spend as much as $4 billion over the next decade on the Surry-North Anna relicensing program and plant maintenance.
