Dominion Energy seeks 20-year license extension in Virginia

Dominion Energy Virginia is appealing to the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission for a 20-year renewal of the license for its twin-reactor power station in Louisa County, Virginia.

This marks the second 20-year license extension for which the company has appealed, this one being for its North Anna Power Station. Noting the move as part of a low-carbon strategy for the state, the company is the latest in a string of industry pushes for reactor lifetime extension.

“The planned relicensing of North Anna and Surry ensures that the benefits of these clean energy sources will continue to provide affordable, reliable, carbon-free electricity to our customers through the middle of the century,” Dominion Senior Vice President and Chief Nuclear Officer Daniel Stoddard said. “Their continued operation will go a long way toward meeting and maintaining both federal and state goals for lowering carbon emissions in the Commonwealth.”

Carbon reductions are an ongoing push in Virginia. Following direction from Gov. Terry McAuliffe, the Virginia Department of Environmental Quality has been establishing new regulations for electricity generating plants built on that idea. A Nuclear Energy Institute analysis found that, likewise, if all operating U.S. nuclear reactors were to gain 80-year license extensions, around 3.5 billion tons of CO2 emissions would be prevented between now and 2050.

The additional short-term gain from this, however, is that according to Stoddard, allowing North Anna and Surry to continue to operate will support more than 2,000 jobs and bring in both economic and tax benefits to the region. As part of the relicensing process, the company plans on investing as much as $4 billion for upgrades.