No more nukes? How about another 80 years of them?

[FBaggins]

Spurred partly by President Obama's plan to reduce coal emissions to fight climate change, utilities are preparing bids to extend the operating licenses of nuclear plants to as long as 80 years, a move that could begin to become public this summer.

...snip...

But nuclear power plants are clearly going to remain in the mix, and maybe for longer than expected. Among the first plants that may seek license extensions are Dominion Resources' Surry Plant in Virginia; Exelon's Peach Bottom plant near the Pennsylvania-Maryland border and Duke Energy's Oconee plant in South Carolina, sources close to the discussion said.

Officials at all three companies acknowledged they are studying how and whether to prepare for a license-extension application, but either declined to comment on timing or said the utilities had not decided when to file.

"The first of our Duke Energy nuclear units will approach the end of their renewed licenses in the early 2030s, and we are currently evaluating opportunities and challenges associated with operating our nuclear generating units for an additional 20 years," Duke spokeswoman Rita Sipe said in an email.

http://www.cnbc.com/2015/07/16/no-more-nukes-how-about-another-80-years-of-them.html?mkt_tok=3RkMMJWWfF9wsRojv6nOeu%2FhmjTEU5z17OwpUKSylMI%2F0ER3fOvrPUfGjI4CSsVkPK%2BTFAwTG5toziV8R7DNLM1wy8YQWhPh