- LACEY -- The owner of the
Oyster Creek nuclear power plant will seek permission to generate power
through 2029, ending months of speculation regarding the future of one
of the country's oldest commercial nuclear power plants.
Plant owner AmerGen will submit a 20-year license renewal application to
the federal government by mid-2005 and expects to have a decision around
2007, Site Vice President Bud Swenson told reporters at the plant yesterday.
AmerGen is owned by Exelon.
AmerGen decided to try to extend its 40-year operating license after finding
that it could safely generate power at a profit through the plant's 60th
year of operation in 2029, he said.
The decision contradicts assertions made by some government officials and
lobby groups that public health and safety risks during an extended operating
period outweighed its benefits, and warranted the plant's shutdown.
Liz Flammia, 18, of Dover Township, said last night she would rather see
the country turn to other, cleaner ways of generating electricity, such
as wind and solar power.
"With the way technology is today, I think they should attempt to
use other energy sources," Flammia said.
Located off a barren stretch of Route 9, Oyster Creek's 650-megawatt reactor
produces 9 percent of New Jersey's electricity, enough to power 600,000
homes. The plant also employs 450 workers and last year pumped $52 million
into Ocean County's economy, according to plant figures.
"We want those contributions to continue and we will do it in a safe,
efficient, environmentally sensitive way, or we won't do it at all,"
Swenson said.
Whether the plant is allowed to operate beyond 2009 will be up to the federal
Nuclear Regulatory Commission, which oversees the country's 103 commercial
plants and has yet to deny a renewal request.
Renewal applications are required to convince federal officials that a
plant owner could manage equipment degradation and comply with environmental
rules during an extended operating period.
The public will have several opportunities to tell the NRC what they think.
The application process takes about two years, time needed for officials
to verify a company's in-house evaluations through inspections and other
means.
- AmerGen will spend the next year or so -- and $10 million
to $15 million -- to prepare an application. The cost will mostly pay for
a staff needed to assess equipment. These in-house inspections will enable
AmerGen to forecast how much money it will need to pay for maintenance,
Swenson said.
Plant officials will also begin to address concerns about power generation
beyond 2009 and have agreed to represent the plant during a televised forum
at 7 p.m. Tuesday on News 12 New Jersey.
Defending the plant's capabilities during an extended operation period
when AmerGen hadn't decided to seek a renewal would have been premature,
plant official have said.
A renewal opponent, state Sen. Leonard T. Connors Jr., R-Ocean, said he
was not surprised by the decision. He promised continued scrutiny of the
plant and the renewal process.
"I don't think public input is going to amount to any more than just
a squawk or a bleep," he said. "I hate to be a pessimist. We're
going to fight hard to make sure the plant is safe if they do issue a permit."
Connors and other 9th District lawmakers had called for a group of independent
scientists to assess the plant's safety risks. They also wanted the extension
limited to five to 10 years.
Suzanne Leta, a representative for renewal opponent New Jersey Public Interest
Research Group, said AmerGen has not taken the plant's safety risks seriously
enough.
"The decision today proves that this company cares more about profits
than the millions of people living within Oyster Creek's midst," she
said in a statement.
Adrianne Koerner, Dover Township, said she doesn't have a definite opinion
on whether the plant should keep operating, but she is concerned that Oyster
Creek could be targeted by terrorists.
"If they do close it down what is going to be there," Koerner
added.
Oyster Creek is the first New Jersey nuclear plant to seek license renewal.
The others, Salem I, Salem II and Hope Creek, are in Salem County. PSEG
Nuclear, their owner, has told the Nuclear Energy Institute industry group
that it plans to apply for license renewals in 2007.
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