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Virginia Electric and Power Company (doing business as Dominion Energy Virginia) submitted its request to the US Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) on 14 July, seeking to renew the Early Site Permit for 20 years beyond its current expiry date of 27 November 2027 or for 20 years from the date of issuance, whichever is later. The NRC formally acknowledged receipt of the request on 28 July, and is now reviewing it ahead of accepting it for docketing.

An Early Site Permit (ESP) is an optional process through which the NRC confirms a site's suitability for new nuclear generation: possession of such a permit reduces the risk of delays during licensing and construction. The permit itself is independent of an application for a construction permit or combined construction and operating licence, and is technology neutral, so a technology can be selected later in the development process. 

Days after the NRC issued the Early Site Permit for two potential additional nuclear power units at the existing North Anna site - already home to two operating pressurised water reactors - in November 2007, Dominion submitted an application to construct and operate North Anna unit 3. This application referenced the Economic Simplified Boiling Water Reactor (ESBWR) design. The NRC granted the licence, known as a COL, in 2017. Some aspects of the Early Site Permit were at that time subsumed into the COL.

In 2024, Dominion Energy issued a request for proposals from reactor vendors to evaluate the feasibility of developing a small modular reactor at North Anna. In its renewal application, Dominion requested the renewal of the Early Site Permit "in its entirety" the company "may pursue licensing of a reactor design alternative to the ESBWR". It also formally notified the regulator of the deferment of the COL, under which it said no construction activities have been initiated.

North Anna units 1 and 2 are 944 MWe pressurised water reactors which began commercial operation in 1978 and 1980, with an initial lifetime of 40 years, which was extended by 20 years in 2003. The units were granted a second - or subsequent - extension to their operating licences in 2024, clearing them for an 80-year operating life, and are now licensed to operate to 2058 and 2060, respectively. 

The recent permit and licence updates at North Anna amount to regulatory housekeeping, Dominion Energy spokesperson Tim Eberly told World Nuclear News.

"We are performing this activity to preserve the option for expanding nuclear energy generation at North Anna, although at this time Dominion Energy has not made any commitments to do so," he said. "These regulatory tweaks formalise that our decision to build a third traditional nuclear reactor at North Anna is on hold - while maintaining the groundwork for future nuclear development so we have the option to pursue a traditional or advanced reactor."

The Virginia Department of Energy is in the process of , with plans to release the 2026 Virginia Energy Plan in October. The previous edition of the plan - released in 2022 - called for Virginia to make strategic investments in innovative, emerging technologies, including hydrogen, carbon capture, storage and utilisation, and, particularly, small modular nuclear reactors.