- Duke Energy submitted a permit application Tuesday that could pave the way for a nuclear power reactor near an existing Stokes County power plant.
- The 18-month early site permit process with the US Nuclear Regulatory Commission could cut down on future delays if Duke decides to move forward with nuclear power in the future.
- Starting the application process now "makes a lot of sense," according to the director of the John Locke Foundation's Center for Food, Power, and Life.
Duke Energy submitted a permit application Tuesday morning that could pave the way for a new nuclear reactor near an existing coal and natural gas power plant in Stokes County.
A nuclear reactor is at least a decade away from operation, but Duke Energy is moving forward with a permit process expected to last 18 months.
Duke has not committed to building new nuclear units, the utility emphasized in a news release. But the permit could help reduce delays during licensing and construction if nuclear plans move forward.
“The submittal is part of the company’s strategic, ongoing commitment to thoroughly evaluate new nuclear generation options to reliably meet the growing energy needs of its customers while reducing costs and risks,” according to the release.
“Building new nuclear capacity on existing coal sites makes a lot of sense,” said Jon Sanders, director of the John Locke Foundation’s Center for Food, Power, and Life. “Power infrastructure is already there, so it would yield savings in money as well as time. Permitting and building new nuclear facilities, even small modular ones, take a long time. It’s good for Duke to get the ball rolling early.”
The early site permit application to the US Nuclear Regulatory Commission “is a first for Duke Energy,” the utility explained. It’s a “risk-mitigation strategy” as Duke pursues options for new nuclear energy.
The application covers six “potential” nuclear designs for the site. Four are considered small modular reactor designs. The other two are labeled “non-light-water designs.” The application does not include reactors like the 11 “large light-water” units Duke operates now in North Carolina and South Carolina.
“Nuclear energy has and will continue to play an essential role in powering communities in the Carolinas,” said Kendal Bowman, Duke Energy’s North Carolina president, in the release. “Submitting an early site permit application is an important next step in assessing the potential for small modular reactors at the Belews Creek site.”
The Belews Creek Steam Station opened in 1974 on Belews Lake in Stokes County as a coal-fired power plant. Duke added natural gas to the plant in 2020 and 2021. The plant has an existing capacity of 2,200 megawatts. Current units are scheduled to be shut down in the late 2030s. Repurposing the site would save customers money, Duke said on its website.
The new federal permit application focuses on a 1,000-acre site near the existing steam station.
“We’re taking a strategic approach to new nuclear development that allows us to advance licensing activities while reducing risks and allowing technologies to mature,” said Kelvin Henderson, Duke Energy chief nuclear officer.
Duke describes the ESP process as optional. Federal regulators would resolve environmental and site safety topics “on the front end” of a project and confirm a site’s suitability for nuclear reactors. Having an approved permit could cut the risk of delays if Duke proceeds with plans for nuclear power in Stokes County.
Because the permit is “technology-neutral,” Duke could wait to select a particular type of nuclear reactor later in its development process.
If nuclear plans move forward at Belews Creek, Duke plans to add 600 megawatts of “advanced nuclear” to its system by 2037. The first small modular reactor could be in use in 2036.
A permit would last for 20 years with a possible 20-year renewal.
“Over the next decade and a half, Duke will be closing or converting all of North Carolina’s coal-fired power plants,” said Sanders of the Locke Center for Food, Power, and Life. “The utility will need to replace that generation as well as add more generation for increasing demand. North Carolinians will need the new generation to be at least as reliable as coal, while the dictates of the Carbon Plan law push Duke to lower-emission sources. Nuclear energy checks both those boxes as a zero-emissions source that is also the most reliable option.”
The state’s Carbon Plan law requires Duke to cut down on carbon dioxide emissions in the years ahead.
“Duke’s most recent filing before the North Carolina Utilities Commission shows, among other things, how much new solar, natural gas, and nuclear capacity the utility wishes to build in North Carolina by 2040,” Sanders explained. “It also shows how much productivity it expects from those sources.”
“The differences between solar and nuclear in both those measures are stark,” Sanders added. “For one, Duke expects to build more than four times more new capacity in solar than it does in nuclear. Nevertheless, Duke expects to receive nearly four times as much productivity from that new nuclear capacity than from the new solar. Getting more nuclear on the grid is crucial to ensuring reliable electricity in the coming years.”