The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) said this week that it has approved two licenses for two more reactors at Nuclear Innovation North America’s (NINA) South Texas Project.
With these licenses, the company can build and operate two advanced boiling-water reactors (ABWR) at the site under certain conditions that include post-Fukushima inspections prior to start-up and monitoring of the steam dryers during the reactors’ first start-up process. There are currently two reactors operating at the South Texas Project site.
The licenses were awarded after a hearing regarding the company’s application and staff reviews of staff reports that evaluated safety and environmental safety factors associated with the site. The NRC found these to be adequate.
The application process began in 2007, and safety and environmental reviews were completed and finalized in September 2015 and February 2011 respectively.
The two current units at the site, near Bay City, generate a total of approximately 2,700 megawatts of generation capacity between its two nuclear reactors. The design for the new reactors specifies generating capacity at approximately 1,300 megawatts of electricity per unit.
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