NRC issues subsequent licence renewal for VC Summer
The US regulator has renewed the operating licence for VC Summer unit 1 for a second time, clearing the pressurised water reactor to operate until August 2062.
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Dominion Energy South Carolina Inc submitted its application requesting authorisation to operate the plant from 60 to 80 years to the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) in August 2023. A safety evaluation report was issued in February 2025, and a final supplemental environmental impact statement was issued in May this year. Both of those reports - as well as the application itself - are available on the NRC's website.
US reactors are initially licensed by the NRC to operate for up to 40 years - a period originally based on economic, rather than technology, limitations. An initial licence renewal extends those operating lives to 60 years. Subsequent licence renewal extends the period of operation from 60 to 80 years.
Located in Fairfield County, South Carolina, V.C. Summer provides electricity for customers of Dominion Energy and state-owned Santee Cooper. The 966 MW nuclear unit generates enough carbon-free electricity to power nearly 242,000 homes, Dominion Energy said.
"VC Summer Nuclear Station has provided reliable, affordable and increasingly clean energy for our customers in the Palmetto State for more than 40 years," said Eric Carr, Dominion Energy's Chief Nuclear Officer. “With steady population growth and economic development, South Carolina will continue to need a clean and reliable workhorse like VC Summer to power our customers' homes and businesses around the clock well into the future."
Dominion Energy received approval to extend the operating licences for its Surry and North Anna nuclear power plants in 2021 and 2024, respectively, and also plans to seek NRC approval to extend the operating licence for Millstone Power Station in Connecticut.
VC Summer, in Jenkinsville, South Carolina, now joins Turkey Point units 3 and 4, Peach Bottom 2 and 3, Surry 1 and 2, North Anna 1 and 2, Monticello 1, and Oconee units 1, 2, and 3 in the NRC's list of reactors that have been granted subsequent licence renewals.
