Dominion Energy Virginia has asked the Nuclear Regulatory Commission to renew the early site permit covering its Lake Anna property in Louisa County, Virginia, and has placed the construction license it already holds for a third reactor there in deferred status. The NRC published notice of the application on August 12, 2026, the second in a series of four weekly notices. Dominion filed on July 14 and the commission acknowledged receipt on July 28.
The request would extend early site permit ESP-003 for 20 years beyond its current expiration of November 27, 2027, or 20 years from the date of issuance, whichever falls later. No construction is authorized by the filing, no ground is disturbed, and the two operating reactors at the site continue to run.
An early site permit is an optional step under Part 52 of the commission's regulations that resolves siting questions before a company commits to a reactor design or a construction budget. The findings cover geology and seismic hazard, hydrology and cooling water, meteorology, population distribution and emergency planning, and the permit is technology neutral. Under 10 CFR 52.39 a later construction permit or combined license application that references the permit treats those issues as settled, absent significant new information.
Dominion holds combined license NPF-103 for North Anna Unit 3, granted in 2017 and referencing the Economic Simplified Boiling Water Reactor design. The company has asked for an exemption from the subsumption requirements of 10 CFR 52.26(d) so the site permit can be renewed in full. Spokesperson Tim Eberly said the company is preserving the option to expand generation at North Anna without committing to do so.
Source: Nature World News - https://www.natureworldnews.com/articles/73178/20260813/dominion-north-anna-early-site-permit-renewal-nrc.htm