BUCHANAN – The two Indian Point nuclear power plant reactors are still scheduled to shut down permanently in 2020 and 2021, but the Nuclear Regulatory Commission on Monday approved new operating licenses.
Indian Point owner Entergy had applied for the licenses in April 2007 and since then has gone through rigorous examination by the federal government and environmental organizations.
Entergy spokesman Jerry Nappi said with the license renewals, all studies and examinations of the facilities will stop.
“All of the analysis has been completed; the NRC determined that Indian Point is a safely operated plant and that it can continue to operate safely until its shutdown dates,” Nappi said. “Entergy announced the shutdown of Indian Point last year and announced Indian Point would shut down by 20-21.”
Entergy concluded the final refueling and maintenance outage at Unit 2 in April and will conduct the same final procedure on Unit 3 in the spring of 2019.
Renewal of the licenses by the NRC “ensures that New Yorkers can continue to benefit from the 2,000 megawatts of power it produces until its planned closure by 2021,” said Jerry Kremer, chairman of the New York Affordable Electricity Alliance.