Summary: Fifty miles south of Willow Park, Comanche Peak -- the two-reactor nuclear plant in Glen Rose that serves as baseload power for the Dallas-Fort Worth metroplex -- is applying to renew its federal license.
Latest Update: Tuesday, 10 January, 2023
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Glen Rose Nuclear Power Plant to renew License; public meeting 10 January
• Federal Nuclear Power Regulators to Consider 20-Year Extension of North Texas Plant Licenses, The Texan, 05 January 2023, Excerpts.
The operating licenses for one of Texas’ two large-scale nuclear plants generating civilian-used power are being considered for a 20-year extension by the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC).
Comanche Peak, the two-reactor nuclear plant in Glen Rose that serves as baseload power for the Dallas-Fort Worth metroplex, can generate up to 2,538 megawatts at once; that is enough to power more than 500,000 homes during peak hours.
Operating permits for the two reactors expire in 2030 and 2033, respectively. Vistra Corp., the energy company that owns Comanche Peak, applied for 20-year extensions for each. The application also includes renewal of licenses to handle the radioactive byproduct of the generation.
On January 10, the NRC will convene a public meeting at the Somervell County Expo Center in Glen Rose to review the application and question power plant officials. The meeting next week will include a public comment period from noon to 1:00 p.m. followed by a more formal proceeding from 1:00 p.m. to 3:00 p.m. that includes a presentation from the plant’s staff, a question-and-answer period, and more time to collect comment. Another session will occur in the evening.
The plant units each contain one “four-loop, pressurized light-water reactor” that operates by splitting uranium atoms by striking them with neutrons — a process known as “fission” — creating heat to produce steam that turns a turbine and generates electricity.
“Comanche Peak is one of the lowest-cost and highest-performing nuclear power plants in the country and is a large, dispatchable source of carbon-free electricity,” said Jim Burke, president and CEO of Vistra, in a statement back in October. “Renewing the licenses of this plant is critical for grid reliability and our environment and is a benefit to the economy, the local community, and our company.”
Across the U.S., there are 53 nuclear power plants in operation, two of which are in Texas — Comanche Peak in Glen Rose and the South Texas Power Plant in Bay City.
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