Arizona Public Service to Apply for License Renewal for 3,900-MW Nuclear Plant

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Written by Eric Funderburk for IIR News Intelligence (Sugar Land, Texas)

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Summary

Arizona Public Service has announced its intention to apply for a license renewal for its three-unit Palo Verde nuclear facility in Arizona, the second-largest nuclear facility in the U.S.

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Keeping the Lights On

Nuclear power is having a bit of a heyday in the U.S. Not only are grid operators scrambling to source steady baseload power--especially low-emissions generation--in the face of rapid demand growth, but also the federal government on both sides of the aisle is for the most part supportive of nuclear development, with the Trump administration setting lofty goals for nuclear power additions and easing regulations and removing red tape around construction authorizations, reactor approvals and license renewals.

License renewals are becoming instrumental in keeping existing reactors operating as the investment and timelines for constructing a traditional nuclear plant have proved costly. Smaller reactors are only just getting off the ground, with the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) authorizing construction of one of TerraPower's Natrium 345-megawatt (MW) advanced reactors in Wyoming. For more information, see March 6, 2026, article - NRC Approves Construction of Natrium Advanced Reactor in Wyoming.

Those license renewals have so far allowed reactors to operate for up to 80 years total, and there have been murmurs of even pushing this to 100 years for some reactors, although 80 years remains the current limit.

Licenses & Renewals

New nuclear reactors are generally authorized by the NRC to operate for an initial 40-year period. An initial license renewal can extend this to 60 years. Many reactors in the U.S. are operating under these initially renewed licenses. After an initial license renewal, a nuclear operator can apply for a subsequent license renewal (SLR), pushing the reactor's authorized operational life to 80 years. Several SLRs have been granted, and the pace of SLR applications remains steady as the existing U.S. nuclear fleet ages but continues to provide important regional baseload power.

Palo Verde

A subsequent license renewal is now in the cards for Arizona's only nuclear power plant, the Palo Verde nuclear power plant, located about 55 miles outside of Phoenix. The plant's three reactors came online in the mid-1980s and continue to provide around 3,900 MW of power, making it the second-largest nuclear facility in the U.S. behind Georgia Power's Plant Vogtle.

Subscribers to Industrial Info's Global Market Intelligence (GMI) Plant Database can click here for the Palo Verde plant profile and here for Plant Vogtle.

The Palo Verde reactors received an initial license renewal in 2011, allowing them to run into the 2040s, and while this seems some ways off, Palo Verde owner Arizona Public Service late last week announced its intention to apply for SLRs for all three reactors. If granted, these would push the operating life of Unit 1 to 2065, Unit 2 to 2066, and Unit 3 to 2067. The application probably will not be submitted until 2027.

SLRs Under Review

According to the NRC website, the agency has granted SLRs for multiple reactors at 10 sites. The NRC granted its first SLR for Florida Power & Light's (FPL) Turkey Point units 3 and 4 outside of Miami in late 2019. The most recent SLR was awarded in December last year for Constellation Energy's Dresden units 2 and 3 in Illinois.

In the meantime, the NRC is actively considering SLRs for five reactors at three plants:

• FPL's St. Lucie units 1 and 2 on Florida's east coast. The application was filed in 2021, and despite the submission and approval of SLRs for eight reactors at four plants since that time, the St. Lucie plant remains under consideration by the NRC. The reason for this may be a lack of pressing need as Unit 1 is currently authorized to operate until March 2036 and Unit 2 until April 2043. However, movement on the application is happening, and last week the NRC issued a positive final environmental impact statement supporting the license renewal.
• The 729-MW sole reactor at Duke Energy's Robinson nuclear plant in South Carolina. The NRC received Duke's SLR application for the reactor in April last year.
• Units 1 and 2 at the Georgia Power-led Edwin I. Hatch nuclear power station in Georgia. Unit 1 went online in 1974, followed by Unit 2 in 1978. An initial license extension was granted in 2002. The NRC received the SLR application for the Hatch units last May.

When approvals for these reactors may be given is unknown, but the NRC has been relatively speedy in its two past SLR authorizations, with the most recent Dresden SLR in Illinois taking only about 20 months from application receipt to license authorization.

Palo Verde to Enter Queue

The Palo Verde plant becomes the latest to throw its hat in the ring and announce its intentions to acquire another 20 years of operations. On its website, the NRC shows more than 20 plants that have provided formal letters of intent to apply for a subsequent license renewal. APS joins a growing queue of aging nuclear plants applying for SLRs, led by leading U.S. nuclear operator Constellation Energy, which has announced its intention for multiple SLRs, many at unnamed plants proprietary with the NRC.

Key Takeaways

• Arizona Public Service has announced its intention to submit an application for the reactors at its Palo Verde nuclear plant near Phoenix, pushing the reactors into a possible 80 years of operational life.
• At 3.9 gigawatts, Palo Verde is the second-biggest nuclear power facility in the U.S.
• The NRC is actively considering three SLR applications at the moment and has received letters of intent for applications for more than 20 other plants.

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About IIR News Intelligence
IIR News Intelligence is a trusted source of news for the industrial process and energy markets, powered by Industrial Info Resources' Global Market Intelligence (GMI).

About Industrial Info Resources
Industrial Info Resources (IIR) is the leading provider of industrial market intelligence. Since 1983, IIR has provided comprehensive research, news and analysis on the industrial process, manufacturing and energy related industries. IIR's Global Market Intelligence (GMI) helps companies identify and pursue trends across multiple markets with access to real, qualified and validated plant and project opportunities. Across the world, IIR is tracking over 250,000 current and future projects worth $30.2 Trillion (USD).