Press Release-11-068, NRC Renews Operating Licenses for Palo Verde Nuclear Power Plant for an Additional 20 Years

Press Release-11-068: NRC Renews Operating Licenses for Palo Verde Nuclear Power Plant for an Additional 20 Years

ML111110836
Person / Time
Site:	Palo Verde
Issue date:	04/21/2011
From:	Office of Public Affairs
To:
References
Press Release-11-068
Download: ML111110836 (1)

Text

NRC NEWS U.S. NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION Office of Public Affairs Telephone: 301/415-8200 Washington, D.C. 20555-0001 E-mail: opa.resource@nrc.gov Site: www.nrc.gov Blog: http://public-blog.nrc-gateway.gov No.11-068 April 21, 2011 NRC RENEWS OPERATING LICENSES FOR PALO VERDE NUCLEAR POWER PLANT FOR AN ADDITIONAL 20 YEARS The Nuclear Regulatory Commission has renewed the operating licenses for Palo Verde Nuclear Generating Station, Units 1, 2, and 3, in Maricopa County, Ariz. for an additional 20 years.

The renewed licenses for the nuclear power plants will now expire on June 1, 2045, for Unit 1; April 24, 2046, for Unit 2; and Nov. 25, 2047, for Unit 3.

The decision to renew the licenses comes after thorough safety and environmental reviews of the license renewal application submitted in Dec. 2008 by the plants operator, Arizona Public Service Company (APS).

The NRC held public meetings near the plant to discuss Palo Verdes environmental review on June 25, 2009, and Sept. 15, 2010. In January 2011, the NRC staff concluded there were no environmental impacts that would preclude renewal of the license for environmental reasons.

After careful review of the plants safety systems and specifications, the staff concluded that the applicant had effectively demonstrated the capability to manage the effects of plant aging and that there were no safety concerns that would preclude license renewal. In addition, NRC conducted inspections of the plant to verify information submitted by the applicant. On March 1, 2011, the Advisory Committee on Reactor Safeguards - an independent body of technical experts that advises the Commission - issued its letter recommending that license renewal for Palo Verde should be approved.

The safety and environmental review reports, application and letters relating to the Palo Verde license renewal are available on the NRC website at:

http://www.nrc.gov/reactors/operating/licensing/renewal/applications/palo-verde.html.

The Palo Verde reactors represent the 64th, 65th, and 66th reactor licenses renewed by the NRC. A complete listing of renewal applications can be found on the NRC website at:

http://www.nrc.gov/reactors/operating/licensing/renewal.html.

News releases are available through a free listserv subscription at the following Web address:

http://www.nrc.gov/public-involve/listserver.html. The NRC homepage at www.nrc.gov also offers a SUBSCRIBE link. E-mail notifications are sent to subscribers when news releases are posted to NRC's website.