nuclear-news

Will the Nuclear Regulatory Commission relicense Fermi plant until 2045?

DTE seeks license extension for Fermi 2 nuke plant, DTE Energy has asked the Nuclear Regulatory Commission to allow the company to operate the Fermi 2 nuclear plant until 2045, Michigan Messenger, By Eartha Jane Melzer | 07.21.11 

Fermi 2, located in Monroe County on Lake Erie, is a 1,140 megawatt plant that has the same GE Mark 1 design as the Fukushima, Japan power plant that melted down this spring following an earthquake and tsunami.

The plant’s current operating license expires in 2025.

Monroe nuclear activist Mike Keegan of Don’t Waste Michigan told the Toldeo Blade that his group will fight the relicensing of Fermi.

“It’s a sham. It’s a paper review,” Mr. Keegan said of the relicensing process, though he said he expects the nation to start taking “a hard look at the whole relicensing process” in response to Japan’s nuclear disaster.

Though it is supposed to provide oversight for nuclear power plants, the Nuclear Regulatory Commission has repeatedly relaxed safety standards to allow aging power plants to continue to operate, a recent Associated Press investigation found.

The NRC has yet to deny a license extension to a U.S. nuclear plant…..

http://michiganmessenger.com/51035/dte-seeks-license-extension-for-fermi-2-nuke-plant

July 21, 2011 - Posted by Christina Macpherson | safety, USA