NRC staff to visit Prairie Island nuclear plant

Prairie Island nuclear plant
The Prairie Island nuclear power plant near Red Wing in southeastern Minnesota. Representatives from the Nuclear Regulatory Commission will visit the plant on Wednesday of this week.
MPR file photo/Erin Galbally

Officials from the Nuclear Regulatory Commission will visit Xcel Energy's Prairie Island nuclear power plant on Wednesday.

The NRC says staff members will meet with plant management to discuss the results of an inspection of the plant's proposed approach for managing the aging of the facility near Red Wing. The plant began producing power in 1973.

Xcel's Northern States Power subsidiary has applied for 20-year license extensions for each of the two reactors at the site. The inspection is part of the NRC's ongoing review of that application.

The federal agency says an important aspect of its license renewal process is ensuring that a plant manages the effects of aging on key safety systems, structures and components.

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