nuclear-news

Duke Energy planning for a fleet of 80 year-old nuclear reactors

Duke Wants to Run Its Nuclear Plants Until They’re 80 Years Old, 22 June 2021,

• Joins Exelon, Dominion, NextEra to run world’s oldest fleet
•  Duke has 11 reactors at six sites in North and South Carolina

One of the biggest power companies in the U.S., is planning to run its fleet of 11 nuclear reactors until they’re 80 years old.

The company filed an application with the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission to renew the license for its Oconee power plant for 20 years, Charlotte-based Duke said in statement Monday. The South Carolina facility began producing power in 1973 and the extensions would keep the three reactors in service until 2053 and 2054.

The company plans to submit similar extension requests for its five other nuclear plants in the Carolinas, which all went into service in the 1970s and 1980s. Duke is part of a growing number of U.S. nuclear owners that are planning to keep their reactors in service for eight decades. Exelon Corp., Dominion Energy Inc. and NextEra Inc. have already been granted similar extensions, creating what will eventually be the world’s oldest nuclear fleet……….

June 24, 2021 - Posted by Christina Macpherson | safety, USA