Monticello Nuclear Plant Gets Federal Approval Through 2050

MONTICELLO (WJON News) -- The U-S Nuclear Regulatory Commission is extending the operating license of the Monticello Nuclear Generating Plant for an additional 20 years.

Xcel Energy regional president Ryan Long says this is a big deal:

"And as we transition away from coal in the Upper Midwest and continue to invest in renewables, nuclear is really going to be the new backbone of our system. So it's a really important federal approval and we're looking forward to going to talk to our state regulatory bodies about getting state approval to run it out to 2050."

He says this is an important approval:

"Our current license actually did expire in 2030. And so we were looking at a 2030 closure of the plant without this license extension. And so that's why we started the process several years ago with the N-R-C to move down the pass of extending the license another 20 years."

Long says the Minnesota Public Utilities Commission already approved extending operations at Monticello through 2040 and they will ask the P-U-C for another ten years.