Dominion Energy Virginia has asked the Nuclear Regulatory Commission to renew the early site permit for its North Anna power plant in Louisa County, Virginia, for another 20 years. The utility submitted the renewal request on July 14, and the NRC acknowledged receipt on July 28. The agency will now docket the application in the Federal Register before starting a formal review.
The NRC first issued North Anna's early site permit in 2007, when Dominion was studying two additional reactors at the site. The commission later granted a combined license for an economic simplified boiling water reactor design, designated Unit 3, but that project has not moved forward. In 2024, Dominion issued a request for proposals to study the feasibility of small modular reactors at North Anna instead.
The current permit expires November 27, 2027. Dominion is seeking renewal of the permit in its entirety, a step the utility says would preserve a licensing pathway for future reactor projects that could differ from the original design. The request would require exemptions from certain federal regulations that folded site permit information into the combined license, along with a deferral of that license.
North Anna's two existing reactors are twin 973-megawatt Westinghouse pressurized water units that began commercial operation in 1978 and 1980. Their operating licenses run through 2058 and 2060, respectively.
Source: Nuclear Newswire (American Nuclear Society) - https://www.ans.org/news/2026-08-06/article-8275/north-anna-power-plant-seeks-esp-renewal/