NRC Renews Two Indian Point Units' Licenses
Last year, Entergy Nuclear Operations Inc., the state of New York, and the environmental group Riverkeeper announced an agreement that called for Entergy to permanently close the plants no later than 2024 and 2025.
The Nuclear Regulatory Commission this week renewed the operating licenses for Unit 2 and Unit 3 of the Indian Point nuclear power plant, which is located in the village of Buchanan, N.Y., in the southeastern part of the state. The renewed licenses allow Entergy Nuclear Operations Inc. to operate the Unit 2 reactor through April 30, 2024, and the Unit 3 reactor through April 30, 2025.
NRC reported that Entergy Nuclear Operations Inc. applied for a renewal of their licenses in April 2007, seek an additional 20 years of operation beyond their original expiration dates of 2013 and 2015. The two units were authorized to continue operating under "timely renewal" because the company had submitted its application more than five years before the expiration of their original licenses.
But on Jan. 8, 2017, Entergy, the state of New York, and the environmental group Riverkeeper announced an agreement that called for Entergy to permanently close the plants no later than 2024 and 2025, respectively. The agreement also called for Entergy to amend its application to seek a shorter renewal term, which it did, and NRC's Atomic Safety and Licensing Board issued an order in March 2017 closing the adjudicatory hearing on the renewal.