The US Nuclear Regulatory Commission has restored the expiration dates of Turkey Point units 3 and 4's subsequent renewed licences to 2052 and 2053, respectively, following completion of a supplemental environmental review to comply with a 2022 Order from the Commission.

Turkey Point was the first plant to receive an SLR approval (Image: NRC/FPL)

Subsequent licence renewals cover a further 20 years of operation beyond 60 years and focus on the management of plant ageing during the 60-80 year operating period, especially the effects of extended operation and high radiation exposure on reactor parts, concrete containment structures, piping and electrical cables, among other things.

The NRC's December 2019 approval of Florida Power & Light's application for a 20-year subsequent licence extension for the Turkey Point units was the first instance of the US regulator authorising reactors to operate for up to 80 years, to 2052 for unit 3 and 2053 for unit 4.

However, in February this year, the NRC reversed its earlier decision on subsequent licence renewals for the units in a legal, procedural decision related to the specific wording of some of the documentation in the renewal process.

The NRC's three commissioners considered petitions against their earlier decision brought by environmental groups Beyond Nuclear, Friends of the Earth, National Resources Defense Council, and Miami Waterkeeper. As part of that process, the regulators decided that the Generic Environmental Impact Statement for License Renewal of Nuclear Plants - or GEIS - did not specifically cover the extended operation period. A memorandum of the commissioners' decision, issued on 24 February, directed NRC staff to modify the licence expiration dates for Turkey Point 3 and 4 back to 2032 and 2033, respectively.

After consideration of the hearing requests from the environmental groups, the NRC's Atomic Safety and Licensing Board (ASLB) terminated this adjudicatory proceeding in August, concluding that no contested matters remained before it for resolution.

The NRC said it has now restored the expiration dates of the subsequent renewed licences for Turkey Point units 3 and 4 to 19 July 2052, and 10 April 2053, respectively.

The ASLB's decision can be appealed to the Commission until late September.

Eight US commercial nuclear power reactors, including Turkey Point, have received subsequent renewed licences. Seven applications for subsequent licence renewal are currently under review.