Based on the Atomic Energy Act, the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) issues licenses for commercial power reactors to operate for up to 40 years and allows these licenses to be renewed for up to another 20 years. Economic and antitrust considerations, not limitations of nuclear technology, determined the original 40-year term for reactor licenses. However, because of this selected time period, some systems, structures, and components may have been engineered on the basis of an expected 40-year service life. The decision to seek license renewal rests entirely with nuclear power plant owners and typically is based on the plant economic situation and on whether it can meet NRC requirements. Each power reactor is licensed based on a given set of requirements, depending primarily on the type of plant.
This set of requirements is called the plant licensing basis. The license renewal review process provides continued assurance that the current licensing basis will maintain an acceptable level of safety for the period of extended operation. The NRC has established a license renewal process that can be completed in a reasonable period of time typically about 30 months - with clear requirements to assure safe plant operation for up to an additional 20 years of plant life. Nuclear power plants are subject to a systematic and thorough NRC oversight program to ensure nuclear plant equipment continues to meet safety standards.
This constant NRC oversight ensures a plant will operate safely throughout its life. Some licensees have expressed interest in license renewal and have described their plans to submit license renewal applications. In anticipation of continued interest by licensees in submitting renewal applications in the coming years, and with increasing experience in reviewing license renewal applications, the NRC expects to make the renewal review process more efficient.
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