Carbon Cuts Require 20-Year Extension For Old US Nuclear Plants

Extending licenses to operate nuclear power plants for an additional 20 years could help the United States produce most of its electricity carbon-free, US Energy Secretary says.

WASHINGTON (Sputnik) — Extending licenses to operate nuclear power plants for an additional 20 years could help the United States produce most of its electricity carbon-free, US Energy Secretary Ernest Moniz told a congressional panel on Wednesday.

"Some companies have come forward that are planning to go ahead with the additional 20-year applications to the NRC [Nuclear Regulatory Commission], and I think that’s going to be a process that we will support as best we can," Moniz testified to the US Senate Appropriations subcommittee on energy and water development.

The NRC, the agency responsible for licensing nuclear power plants in the United States, is independent of the Department of Energy, which Moniz heads.

The NRC typically licenses nuclear reactors for up to 60 years, and nearly all of the 99 US nuclear plants now operating will require a 20-year extension to continue running beyond 2050, according to the US Energy Information Administration.

Moniz explained during his testimony that nuclear energy will help the United States meet a carbon-cutting pledge made at Paris climate-change conference in December.