Most of the 99 operating nuclear power plants in the U.S. were built in the 1970s. They were originally licensed by the NRC to operate for forty years. Having reached the end of their original intended lifespan, most of the aging power reactors have been relicensed for another twenty years. The wisdom of giving these aging reactors another twenty years of operation has been questioned. Now there is a call for even longer license extensions.
A group of nuclear power plant operators has formed under the leadership of Dominion Resources Inc. to lobby for extending the licenses of these old reactors even further. Dominion announced early in November that it would seek to have the NRC issue an extension for power reactors beyond the additional twenty years that have been granted. The NRC will release a draft report in December that will cover what safety measures will be needed in order for aging power reactors to be relicensed beyond the current twenty years.
As might be expected, this has stirred a serious backlash among those opposed to nuclear power. They point out that with every year that passes, the risk created by operating nuclear reactors past their original licensed lifespan increases the probability of breakdowns and accidents. Without increasing serious risk management of these aging reactors, the activists say that we are courting disaster.
Long term bombardment of neutrons makes both metals and concrete in nuclear power reactors more brittle. As components that were built decades ago wear out, it becomes harder and harder to find replacements that are an exact match. Aging power reactors in the U.S. are wearing out and springing leaks that interfere with continuous operation. At Davis Besse in Ohio, it was discovered in 2002 that corrosion had nearly eaten all the way through a steel reactor cap. Piping in Vermont Yankee has been springing leaks lately. And there is always the issue of spent nuclear fuel. The cooling ponds of U.S. reactors are filling up with spent fuel which will have to be moved soon. Without a permanent geological repository, temporary dry cask storage is the only choice but it will be expensive to construct and vulnerable to adverse weather, leakage, and terrorist attacks.
If this new round of license extensions is granted by the NRC, one of the first reactors to benefit would be at the Surry plant in Virginia which is owned by Dominion. A final decision on the licensing extension will not be made until after 2020. It is believed that if the U.S. extends the licenses for commercial power reactors, this will influence the global nuclear power industry and other countries will follow suit. It is currently estimated that about thirty-eight percent of global nuclear power generation will be retired by 2030. The U.S. is going to lead the retirement simply because its nuclear power reactor fleet is the oldest in the world.
Recently a power reactor was shut down in Florida because it was becoming too expensive to repair and keep in operation. It is likely that with cheap natural gas and competition from renewables, more of these old reactors will be shut down because they are not longer competitive even if they are still licensed. In the end, it may not matter if the old reactors have extended licenses or not. They may wind up being shuttered simply because they are too expensive to operate. Time will tell.
Corrosion in Davis Besse reactor cap:
