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SCRIBA, NY. – The Nuclear Regulatory Commission has approved the Entergy Nuclear application for a renewed operating license for the James A. FitzPatrick Nuclear Power Plant.
FitzPatrick’s original 40-year license was scheduled to expire in 2014.
The renewed operating license allows the station to operate an additional 20 years beyond the original license, to 2034.
Mike Kansler, president and chief nuclear officer of Entergy Nuclear, said, “This is an important decision for the energy security of the region that gets electricity from FitzPatrick. License renewal allows the plant to continue to generate safe, clean, reliable and low-cost energy well into New York’s future.â€ÂÂ
He added, “Renewing the licenses of our plants is also vital to our 650 FitzPatrick employees and to the areas in which we operate.â€ÂÂ
Last year, the FitzPatrick plant generated 6.9 million megawatts of electricity, enough to provide for the average residential usage of 840,000 homes.
Using nuclear power as the source for New York’s electricity displaced 29.2 million metric tons of carbon dioxide, the average emissions from the same amount of fossil fuel-generated electricity, according to the Nuclear Energy Institute.
FitzPatrick is the 49th among the nation’s 104 licensed nuclear units to receive license renewal.
FitzPatrick submitted its renewal application in July 2006.
During its review of the application, the NRC evaluates the technical aspects of plant aging, how the aging effects will be managed by the station and the potential impact the plant has on the environment.
Public participation plays an important role in the renewal process.
Members of the public are provided the opportunity to attend public meetings, solicit input and review the NRC’s findings and recommendations.
The license renewal process ensures that important systems, structures and components will continue to safely perform their intended function during the 20-year extension.
FitzPatrick Site Vice President Pete Dietrich said, “We look forward to the opportunity to continue to provide safe, virtually carbon-free electricity to those communities we serve throughout Upstate New York and beyond. Entergy Nuclear and the employees at FitzPatrick take pride in our commitment to ‘safety first’ and environmental stewardship. We thank all our employees, elected officials, community leaders and citizens of the community for their support during the license renewal process.â€ÂÂ
Entergy Corporation is an integrated energy company engaged primarily in electric power production and retail distribution operations.
Entergy owns and operates power plants with approximately 30,000 megawatts of electric generating capacity, and it is the second-largest nuclear generator in the United States.
Entergy delivers electricity to 2.7 million utility customers in Arkansas, Louisiana, Mississippi and Texas.
Entergy has annual revenues of more than $11 billion and approximately 14,300 employees.
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