The Nuclear Regulator Commission said Monday that Ameren's Callaway Plant Unit 1 in Fulton, Missouri, had been granted a 20-year license extension, which bumps its potential commercial life through October 2044.
The pressurized water reactor became the 76th to receive a renewed license from the federal government. There are an additional 18 still under review.
The renewal means power and jobs, said the plant's Chief Nuclear Officer Fadi Diya. “Renewal of our license ensures that the Callaway Energy Center will continue to benefit our customers and our community,” Diya said in a statement. “Callaway employs hundreds of people, provides a powerful boost to the local and state economy and is a key reason why Ameren Missouri is able to provide our customers with reliability that is among the best in the United States.”
The plant that is 25 miles east-northeast of Jefferson City, began operations in October 1984. The Westinghouse design four-loop's original operator was the Union Electric Company, until it became a part of Ameren Corporation in 1997 through a series of mergers.
Callaway Unit 1 , with a 1,200 megawatt capacity, is the only nuclear power generating station in the state. St. Louis Today noted that the nuclear plant is Ameren's second largest power generator. It also operates a 2,400 megawatt coal-burning plant in Franklin, Mo.
In its statement, the NRC said that it was within its rights to grant license extensions “despite outstanding adjudicatory contentions,” which is an answer to a legal challenge mounted by environmental groups, including the Missouri Coalition for the Environment, which contends that licensing renewals are insufficient, because they do not take into account storage of nuclear waste.
"The NRC has a process where they can approve applications for license renewal that are under contention as long as the environmental and the safety reviews are complete, and the applicant has met all of the requirements for license renewal," said Ameren Missouri spokeswoman Sarah Kovaleski, as quoted by St. Louis Public Radio.