There are no environmental impacts that would preclude the renewal of Beaver Valley’s operating licence for an additional 20 years, the Nuclear Regulatory Commission said on 19 May after completing its final environmental impact statement.
Beaver Valley power station in Shippingport Pensylvania comprises two Westinghouse PWRs with a combined capacity of 1815MW. The plant is owned and operated by FirstEnergy Nuclear Operating Co. The current operating licences for Beaver Valley unit 1 and 2 are due to expire on 29 January 2016, and 27 May 2027, respectively. FirstEnergy submitted an application for a 20-year licence extension for each unit in May 2007.
As part of its environmental review of the application, the NRC held public meetings near the plant to discuss the scope of the review and the draft version of the environmental impact statement. Comments were received and considered from members of the public, local officials, and representatives of state and federal agencies.
Beaver Valley’s operator has been carrying out an extensive upgrade and uprating programme in order to improve the plant’s operating efficiency.
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