Entergy Vt Yankee reactor steps closer to renewal

NEW YORK, July 10 (Reuters) - The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission's judicial branch decided again to recommend the renewal of Entergy Corp's (ETR.N) Vermont Yankee nuclear power plant's operating license for another 20 years, a spokesman for Entergy said late Thursday.

Entergy said the five-member Commission should now be in a position to make a final decision later this year.

Entergy filed with the NRC to extend the plant's original 40-year operating license for another 20 years in January 2006.

It usually takes the NRC about 22 months (November 2007) to make a decision on renewal without a hearing and about 30 months (July 2008) with a hearing.

The Atomic Safety and Licensing Board (ASLB), the NRC's judicial branch, held a hearing on an intervener's contention related to reactor vessel nozzle engineering calculations.

The ASLB recommended the Commissioners follow the recommendation of the NRC staff approving the license extension but wanted Entergy to perform additional analysis on the nozzles before the Commissioners grant the extension.

Entergy conducted that analysis even though the NRC staff objected to the ASLB request for additional analysis.

The latest ASLB decision Thursday denied an intervener's request to file a further contention on the nozzles.

Vermont Yankee, which entered service in 1972, is located in Vernon in Windham County about 80 miles north of Hartford, Connecticut.

One MW powers about 1,000 homes in Vermont.

Entergy, of New Orleans, owns and operates about 30,000 MW of generating capacity, markets energy commodities, and transmits and distributes power to 2.7 million customers in Arkansas, Louisiana, Mississippi and Texas. (Reporting by Scott DiSavino; Editing by Marguerita Choy)