U.S.
Commercial
Nuclear
Plants: A
National
Resource
for 80 Years
or More
By Alex S. Polonsky and Ray P. Kuyler,
Morgan, Lewis & Bockius LLP.
Alex Polonsky
Alex Polonsky is a partner in Morgan
Lewis’s Energy Practice, focusing
on energy and
environmental
law. His practice
includes advising on
Nuclear Regulatory
Commission (NRC)
licensing and
litigation, including
license renewal.
He is co-author of
Fundamentals of
Nuclear Regulation
in the U.S. and is
an experienced
litigator before
the NRC’s Atomic
Safety and
Licensing Boards.
Kathryn M. Sutton, the leader of the
Morgan Lewis Energy Practice Group,
gave her review and insight during the
preparation of this article.
Nearly all of the approximately
100 commercial nuclear power plants
in operation in the United States today
began operation in the 1970s and 1980s.
Along with the new nuclear plants that
will be coming on line in the next few
years, the existing commercial nuclear
fleet represents a substantial national
resource, providing approximately 20%
of the nation’s electrical power, and
doing so without contributing to climate
change and without emitting any air
pollution. These plants also provide
an extraordinarily reliable source of
baseload electrical generation, with each
nuclear plant producing a steady output
of power, on average, more than 90% of
the time. There are regulatory proposals
underway at the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory
Commission (NRC) that could present
business planning challenges for
licensees considering the long-term
operation of the domestic commercial
nuclear fleet by undercutting the stable
and predictable regulatory framework for
license renewal.
The NRC initially licensed each ex-
isting nuclear power plant to operate for
40 years under the
Atomic Energy Act
of 1954 (Prior to
1975, nuclear power
plants were licensed
by NRC’s predeces-
sor, the Atomic En-
ergy Commission).
This time frame was
selected for eco-
nomic and antitrust
reasons rather than
for any technical or
safety limitations on
the continued op-
eration of a nuclear
facility. Operating
licenses can be re-
newed for up to 20
additional years, and there is no statutory
or regulatory limit on how many times
an operating license can be renewed. As
of today, nearly three-quarters of the 100
operating reactors have obtained renewed
NRC operating licenses. Most, if not all,
of the remaining plants have applied or
are expected to apply for renewed licens-
es.
But even with a first license renewal,
the licenses for the oldest plants will
begin to expire in 2029, with most of the
remaining operating licenses expiring
in the 2030s and 2040s. Absent the
contribution of many new reactors—or
without a second or “subsequent” license
renewal for existing reactors, the United
States will lose this safe, clean, carbon-
free, and reliable baseload electrical
power resource. This may seem far in
the future, but the regulatory framework
for subsequent license renewal is being
evaluated now.
Under current conditions, lost
nuclear generation would largely be
replaced by fossil-fueled power sources,
such as natural gas. This is primarily
because renewable energy sources, such
as solar and wind, are not baseload
electrical generating sources. The loss
of nuclear baseload generation and
replacement with fossil-fueled sources
would, among other things, eliminate
the greenhouse gas emissions benefits
provided by the existing nuclear fleet.
In addition, as our reliance on fossil fuel
grows, we would lose the reliability and
diversity-of-supply benefits provided
by the existing nuclear fleet. Given the
long lead times associated with baseload
energy planning and approvals, we need
to begin laying the foundation now to
retain existing nuclear assets beyond the
next few decades.
AWell-Established
Regulatory Process Is
Already in Place
The NRC has a mature and tested
regulatory process for the renewal of
nuclear power plant operating licenses.
That regulatory process is outlined
in Title 10 of the Code of Federal
Regulations (CFR), Part 54. These rules
have been in place since 1995 and have
been the framework for the successful
renewal of 73 licenses to date. Numerous
plants have already begun operating
beyond their original 40-year licenses,
and have successfully implemented the
additional programs required to ensure
plant safety during the period of extended
operation. The Part 54 rules explicitly
allow for and were designed to consider
subsequent license renewals. Thus Part
54 can and should govern requirements
for applications and the NRC’s granting
of subsequent license renewals. This
is because the methods licensees use to
32
NuclearPlantJournal.com Nuclear Plant Journal, May-June 2014
