NRC issues subsequent license renewal to Monticello plant

The NRC announced the approval of the subsequent license renewal for an additional 20 years on December 30. The unit’s operating license now extends through September 8, 2050—although its owners have discussed continuing operations until only 2040.

Monticello’s approval brings the number of U.S. commercial plants with subsequent license approvals to nine. Six more SLR applications are currently under review, according to the NRC.

About the plant: Monticello is a 671-MWe boiling water reactor located on the Mississippi River about 35 miles northwest of Minneapolis, Minn., and is operated by Northern States Power Company–Minnesota, which does business as Xcel Energy. The plant began commercial operation in 1971.

The company also operates Minnesota’s other nuclear power plant, Prairie Island—which is located near Red Wing and has two 550-MWe pressurized water reactors.

The Minnesota Public Utilities Commission (PUC) approved in 2023 Xcel Energy’s request for a certificate of need to expand spent nuclear fuel storage at the plant to install a second concrete support pad and modular concrete storage system to hold 14 additional steel canisters. The extra storage for spent fuel is needed to support the plant’s extended life.

The process: The NRC reviewed the application for Monticello in two tracks. A safety evaluation report was issued in March 2024, and a final environmental impact statement was issued in November 2024. Documents from these processes are available on the NRC website.

In a major change to its SLR process, the NRC decided in 2022 that SLR applications must rely on a more extensive environmental analysis than was previously provided by the generic environmental impact statement for license renewal of nuclear plants (GEIS).

The commission voted to approve a new rule and update to the GEIS on May 16, 2024, which reflects changes in regulations and guidance and applies what the agency has learned during previous license renewals.

Third renewals? Based on the NRC’s schedule, the latest GEIS would be due for review again in 2031. Recognizing that licensees could submit applications for a third 20-year license renewal (extending a plant’s operational life to as much as 100 years) before the 2031 GEIS review is complete, the NRC’s commissioners directed agency staff to “engage regularly with industry stakeholders to determine interest in a third term of license renewal and the timing of these potential license renewal applications.”