North Anna gets federal OK to operate through 2060

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission has approved 20-year extensions for North Anna Power Station’s two nuclear reactors, allowing them to operate through 2058 and 2060, Dominion Energy announced Wednesday.

The two reactors in Louisa County were originally licensed to operate for 40 years, beginning in 1978 and 1980, and in 2003, the licenses were renewed for an additional 20 years, permitting the two reactors to operate through 2038 and 2040. Dominion Energy Virginia began the application process for North Anna’s most recent renewal in August 2020, according to the NRC’s website, and went through an environmental audit, a safety evaluation and public hearings over the past four years. In October 2023, the NRC revised the license renewal schedule, delaying the approval from July to August.

North Anna, which is owned and operated by Dominion, generates enough electricity to power 500,000 homes, and along with Dominion’s Surry Power Station, the two nuclear plants generate 40% of the state’s electricity and about 90% of carbon-free power in Virginia. Surry Power Station received NRC approval in 2021 to extend its operating license through 2053.

Nuclear power has received a great deal of attention lately in Virginia, as Dominion announced plans in July to potentially develop a small modular reactor (SMR) at North Anna, issuing a request for proposals to nuclear technology companies as a first step in evaluating the feasibility of building a smaller reactor there.

Gov. Glenn Youngkin, who was at the announcement at North Anna, has championed nuclear energy as a key part of fulfilling the Virginia Clean Economy Act, which requires Dominion and Appalachian Power to shift to carbon-free, renewable energy sources for electricity generation in the next 26 years. Youngkin signed a bill in July that permits Dominion to petition the Virginia State Corporation Commission at any time before the end of 2029 for its approval of a rate adjustment clause to recover development costs for an SMR.

“For more than 50 years, nuclear power has been the most reliable workhorse of our fleet and the largest source of carbon-free power in Virginia,” Eric Carr, Dominion Energy’s chief nuclear officer, said in a statement Wednesday. “North Anna operates around the clock and generates the reliable, clean energy that powers our customers’ homes and businesses every day. With this 20-year extension, our customers can continue counting on North Anna for reliable, carbon-free power for another generation to come.”

According to Wednesday’s announcement, Dominion plans to make several upgrades to the North Anna plant, including replacing generators and condensers, refurbishing reactor coolant pumps and converting instrument and control systems from analog to digital. The Fortune 500 utility will seek recovery of these costs from the SCC later this year, it said in the news release. Dominion Energy’s affiliated companies also plan to seek NRC approval to extend operating licenses for power stations in South Carolina and Connecticut, according to the statement.