Texas-based energy company Vistra has announced that the US Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) has approved its request to extend the operation of Comanche Peak NPP until 2053; an additional 20 years beyond its original licences. The company applied for licence renewal with the NRC in October 2022.
The two-unit Comanche Peak is the third of Vistra’s four nuclear plants to receive a licence extension. Comanche Peak units 1&2 can now operate until 2050 and 2053. The company’s Beaver Valley NPP units 1&2 in Pennsylvania are licensed to 2036 and 2047, and Davis-Besse in Ohio is licensed to 2037. Perry NPP in Ohio applied for renewal in 2023 and is undergoing the NRC review process.
NRC staff noted in an April report to NRC commissioners that Vistra’s “proactive and voluntary efforts” helped improve the timeliness and efficiency of the licence renewal process. The company voluntarily submitted three supplements to the applications, which the staff said contributed to a 70% reduction in its requests for information compared with previous licence renewals.
Comanche Peak, in Somervell County, Texas, is operated by Luminant Generation, a subsidiary of Vistra Corp. Unit 1 began operation in 1990 and unit 2 in 1993. In 2008, NRC approved a request to increase the generating capacity of the units by approximately 4.5% each. Unit 1 was uprated with a capacity increase of approximately 1,210 to 1,259 MWe and unit 2’s capacity increased from 1,208 to 1,245 MWe.
“With demand for electricity growing at a rapid pace, reliable sources of power, like Comanche Peak, are going to be absolutely essential to meeting that need,” said Vistra President & CEO Jim Burke Vistra. “Importantly, this demand growth is happening at the same time as the country is transitioning to cleaner energy sources and many fossil plants are retiring. Electricity is one of the most basic building blocks of the economy, and extending the operation of our nuclear fleet provides decades of support for both existing and growing sectors.”
NRC said the review of the application proceeded on two tracks. A safety evaluation report was issued in March followed by a final supplemental environmental impact statement in April.
