The Nuclear Regulatory Commission has approved a subsequent license renewal for the Edwin I. Hatch Nuclear Plant near Baxley, Georgia, authorizing the facility to keep operating for another 20 years. Georgia Power announced the approval on June 15.
The renewal extends the operating license for Plant Hatch Unit 1 through 2054 and Unit 2 through 2058, allowing each reactor to run for up to 80 years total. The two units were originally licensed in the mid-1970s, and the NRC approved an earlier 20-year extension for the plant in 2002.
Plant Hatch holds the distinction of being Georgia's first nuclear power plant. It is co-owned by Georgia Power, Oglethorpe Power Corporation, the Municipal Electric Authority of Georgia, and Dalton Utilities, reflecting the shared-ownership model common among Southeastern nuclear facilities that serve both investor-owned and public power customers.
The NRC's approval followed a comprehensive safety and environmental review covering the plant's operating history, aging management programs, and ongoing compliance with federal regulations. Regulators concluded that Plant Hatch can continue operating safely and within all applicable standards through the renewal period.
The license extension adds to a broader pattern of long-term operation decisions across the Southeast's nuclear fleet, as utilities look to existing reactors to provide steady baseload capacity for a Georgia grid that has also recently added Plant Vogtle's two newest reactors near Waynesboro.
Source: PR Newswire / Georgia Power -- https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/georgias-plant-hatch-receives-20-year-license-renewal-from-the-nuclear-regulatory-commission-302800398.html