PSEG subsidiary PSEG Nuclear has told the Nuclear Regulatory Commission it plans to request operating license extensions for its three South Jersey nuclear plants, which would enable the oldest plant to continue running until 2056 and the newest until 2066. 

With NRC approval, the plants, which are central to New Jersey’s clean energy goals, would operate until they are 80 years old — almost double the 42 years that is the average age of U.S. nuclear plants. 

The utility told the NRC in a March 28 letter it expects to seek license renewal for the plants — Salem Generating Station Units 1 and 2 and Hope Creek Generating Station — in the second quarter of 2027. The application would trigger a two-year review and approval process for the plants, which generate 3,468 MW of energy, PSEG said in a statement.   

“This early notification is intended to provide the NRC with time to ensure resource availability when the formal applications are submitted in 2027,” the company said. 

The three plants generated 42% of the electricity produced in the state in 2022 and are key to Gov. Phil Murphy’s (D) goal of reaching 100% clean energy by 2035. Solar projects account for about 8% of New Jersey’s in-state production, and construction has yet to start on any offshore wind projects, so nuclear-generated electricity will be essential to the state’s ability to produce clean energy and cut emissions for years to come. 

The state’s Energy Master Plan says nuclear plants will need to be “retained past current licenses” and predicts that in 2050, nuclear plants will produce 16% of the state’s electricity, compared to 34% generated by solar and 23% produced by offshore wind. 

Charles (Chaz) McFeaters, president of PSEG Nuclear, said the company has “safely generated reliable, always-on carbon-free energy” for five decades. 

“Seeking to renew our licenses signifies our commitment to continuing to contribute to New Jersey’s clean energy future and serving as a vital economic engine for the local community,” he said. 

Aging Plant Inspections

There were 54 commercially operating nuclear power plants in the U.S. in 2023, with 93 reactors in 28 states, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration.  

U.S. nuclear plants initially are licensed for 40 years and can submit an application to the NRC to renew the licenses 20 years at a time. The NRC has completed 61 applications to extend a license from 40 to 60 years, known as initial license renewals, but has completed just three applications to extend a license from 60 to 80 years, known as subsequent license renewal. 

PSEG’s plan follows the announcement in March that Michigan’s 800-MW Palisades nuclear power plant, which was opened in 1971 and decommissioned in 2022, could become the first nuclear plant in the U.S. to be restarted, helped by a $1.52 billion loan from the federal Department of Energy’s Loan Programs Office (LPO). (See LPO Announces $1.52B Loan to Restart Palisades Nuclear Plant.) 

Diane Screnci, a spokeswoman for the NRC, said the agency’s extensive research on nuclear plant aging concluded that “most nuclear plant aging issues are manageable and do not pose technical issues that would prevent them [from] … operating [for] additional years beyond their original 40-year license period.” 

Each reactor is licensed based on a specific set of requirements, called the plant’s “licensing basis,” she said. “The license renewal review process provides continued assurance that the current licensing basis will maintain an acceptable level of safety for the period of extended operation. The renewed license requires ‘aging management programs’ to monitor and manage the effects of continued operation on certain structures, systems and components.” 

The agency conducts an extensive inspection and oversight program at every plant throughout its life, she said.  

Chizi Odidika, media relations manager for the Nuclear Energy Institute, said planned life extensions for nuclear plants are not unusual. 

“Over 90% of our current nuclear fleet intends to pursue operation for at least 80 years,” she said, adding that “extending their lifespan involves significant considerations and investments, including the development of robust monitoring programs to track the aging of key structures and systems.”  

Federal Nuclear Subsidies

PSEG is the sole owner and operator of the Hope Creek plant and the operator and majority co-owner of Salem 1 and Salem 2 plants, with Constellation Energy the minority co-owner. 

The company’s oldest nuclear plant, Salem Unit 1, came online in 1976 and in 2011 was granted a license extension to continue operating beyond the initial expiration in 2016 to 2036. The utility now plans to ask for an extension to operate until 2056.  

Salem Unit 2, which came online in 1980, obtained an extension to operate beyond 2020 to 2040, and approval of the planned request would continue operations there until 2060. Hope Creek came online in 1986 and obtained an extension to operate until 2046. PSEG will seek a license to operate the plant until 2066. 

PSEG’s announcement comes as the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) this year begins offering nuclear production tax credits (PTC) to nuclear plant operators. PTCs create a credit of $15/mWh for electricity produced by existing nuclear plants. 

PSEG in November told the New Jersey Board of Public Utilities (BPU) the utility would withdraw from the state zero emission certificate (ZEC) program to pursue the federal tax credits. The New Jersey program provides subsidies to nuclear power plants at risk of closure so they can remain open to generate carbon-free power. It paid $10/MWh. 

The BPU twice awarded ZECs totaling $300 million a year to PSEG, in 2019 and 2022, and the company had filed a notice of intent to seek incentives in the next period, which would run from 2026 to 2029. But the BPU shut down the program after PSEG’s withdrawal because there were no remaining applicants. (See NJ Closes Nuclear Subsidy Process as PSEG Looks to Feds.) 

The ZEC process became contentious in the last period, with the New Jersey Division of Rate Counsel, the state’s consumer advocate, and environmental activists arguing PSEG exploited its market dominance to extract an unnecessarily large payoff and didn’t need the maximum ZEC to keep the plants operating.