Summary: A 20-year operating extension has been granted for the Glen Rose Comanche Peak nuclear power plant. The two Comanche Peak units have a 2,538-megawatt (MW) capacity that can power over 500,000 homes during peak electricity use hours.
Latest Update: 30 August, 2024
Tags: #Electricity
License renewed for Comanche Peak nuclear power plant, 50 miles south of Willow Park.
A 20-year operating extension has been granted for the North Texas nuclear power plant located in Glen Rose known as Comanche Peak. The two Comanche Peak units have a 2,538-megawatt (MW) capacity that can power over 500,000 homes during peak electricity use hours. [1]
The extension ensures the continued operation of one of the state’s two large-scale nuclear plants that provide a large amount of baseline power to the population centers they serve. [1]
The Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) considered the extension after Vistra Corp. applied for operating license renewals for its two units; they were set to expire in 2030 and 2033. The approval process went through 22 months of NRC review and public meetings. [1]
It's an understatement to say The State of Texas is amid a power problem. [2]
But for a long time, Texas’ nuclear power footprint has remained stagnant, as it’s been crowded out by renewables and natural gas power — sources that cost less up front and have less red tape needed to jump through. But that is beginning to change as the industry shifts more to smaller, more flexible, and less costly units. “The nuclear industry has atrophied in Texas over the last 20 years." [1]
However, since the federal government has failed for decades to secure a permanent storage facility for nuclear waste, high-level radioactive waste has been stored on-site... for years. [1]
Willow Park Sources and Resources
[1] Federal Agency Renews Comanche Peak Nuclear Plant Licenses for 20 Years, The Texan, 01 August 2024
A 20-year operating extension has been granted for the North Texas nuclear power plant located in Glen Rose known as Comanche Peak.
The Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) considered the extension after Vistra Corp. applied for operating license renewals for its two units; they were set to expire in 2030 and 2033. Public meetings were held by the agency to field public comment.
The approval process went through 22 months of review per the typical line of procedure.
“The NRC’s review of the application proceeded on two tracks. A safety evaluation report was issued in March, and a final supplemental environmental impact statement was issued in April,” the NRC’s release stated.
The plant uses nuclear fission to generate heat that creates steam, which turns a turbine and thus produces power.
The two units have a 2,538-megawatt (MW) capacity that can power over 500,000 homes during peak electricity use hours.
Vistra’s President and CEO Jim Burke said in a release, “With demand for electricity growing at a rapid pace, reliable sources of power, like Comanche Peak, are going to be absolutely essential to meeting that need.”
“Importantly, this demand growth is happening at the same time as the country is transitioning to cleaner energy sources and many fossil plants are retiring. Electricity is one of the most basic building blocks of the economy, and extending the operation of our nuclear fleet provides decades of support for both existing and growing sectors.”
The State of Texas is amid a power problem, as its main grid — the Electric Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT) — has seen a plateau of its dispatchable power capacity growth; federal incentives have made renewable energy generation a far more attractive investment option.
The extension ensures the continued operation of one of the state’s two large-scale nuclear plants that provide a large amount of baseline power to the population centers they serve.
At the West Texas Legislative Summit this week, Public Utility Commission (PUC) Jimmy Glotfelty said, “As a regulator, we need to get out of their way.”
Glotfelty is one of the state’s primary proponents of nuclear power expansion. But for a long time, Texas’ nuclear power footprint has remained stagnant, as it’s been crowded out by renewables and natural gas power — sources that cost less up front and have less red tape needed to jump through. But that is beginning to change as the industry shifts more to smaller, more flexible, and less costly units.
He added, “The nuclear industry has atrophied in Texas over the last 20 years. We know that right now, [SMRs] are more expensive than a gas turbine right now. But in three to four generations they’ll be cheaper.”
Texas has one primary small modular reactor project in the works at a Dow Chemical plant in Calhoun County. Others are in early-stage development.
To help defray that up-front cost, Sen. Charles Perry (R-Lubbock) told the summit, “The state really needs to step up on the financial side.”
T hat’s generally been a main component of the state’s strategy post-2021 blackouts in reforming the ERCOT power grid and the market that drives it — such as with the power plant loan program passed last year and was approved on the statewide ballot.
Officials and industry members are becoming increasingly bullish on nuclear, though opponents and critics still remain.
On top of the rebuke made about the storage of high-level radioactive waste — the byproduct of the electricity it produces — by the Legislature in 2021, crops of citizens have opposed increasing the nuclear power footprint, including Comanche Peak.
High-level radioactive waste has been stored on-site at these plants and the other miscellaneous reactors across the state for years. The federal government has failed for decades to secure a permanent storage facility at Yucca Mountain in Nevada.
As state officials and industry figures continue touting the prospect of nuclear power, and as technological improvements make building new generators more financially feasible, Texas appears to be on the fast track toward utilizing this option for coping with the massive growth in electricity demand.
[2] Power to the People. Energy, Electricity, Gas Index, Willow Park Civics Blog
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