NRC to decide NJ Oyster Creek reactor renewal May 16

NEW YORK, May 8 (Reuters) - The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission expects to announce a decision on May 16 on the license renewal of Exelon Corp's (EXC.N) Oyster Creek nuclear power reactor in New Jersey.

This is the second time the Commissioners have scheduled a tentative session in which they will publicly affirm how they have already voted. They postponed an earlier affirmation session on Oyster Creek in April.

Oyster Creek is the oldest operating nuclear reactor in the nation. It entered service in 1969 and without the license renewal; will have to shut in 2009.

The 619-megawatt plant, which can produce enough power for about 500,000 New Jersey homes, is located in Forked River in Ocean County about 60 miles east of Philadelphia.

Exelon applied with the NRC to renew the plant's original 40-year operating license for another 20 years in July 2005.

The Commission is dealing with a request for review by a coalition of public interest and environmental groups contesting a decision by a federal review board, the Atomic Safety and Licensing Board (ASLB), in December 2007.

The ASLB rejected the groups' contention pertaining to the frequency of the testing of the plant's drywell.

The drywell is a steel shell shaped like an inverted light bulb that surrounds the reactor vessel. It is designed to confine steam that would be released during a severe accident and direct it downwards to a suppression pool, where it would be cooled and condensed into water.

At the affirmation session, the commissioners also expect to make public their votes on a filing by another coalition of groups seeking to halt all license renewal proceedings.

That filing is related to a report by the NRC's inspector general that raised issues with the license renewal process. The NRC staff however had a different interpretation of the inspector general report.

The staff has said the inspector general report pointed out some areas in need of improvement but overall found the program was fundamentally sound. The staff also noted the NRC has already made a number of improvements to the renewal process.

Exelon's AmerGen Energy Co subsidiary owns the station, while its Exelon Generation Co LLC subsidiary operates it.

Exelon, of Chicago, owns and operates more than 38,000 MW of generating capacity, markets energy commodities. It transmits and distributes electricity to 5.4 million and distributes natural gas to 480,000 customers in Illinois and Pennsylvania. (Reporting by Scott DiSavino; Editing by John Picinich)