NRC renewed the license following thorough investigation of the safety and environmental impact of the nuclear plant, operated by the Entergy Nuclear.
The license will allow the plant to be operational until 2032.
Entergy Nuclear president, CEO and chief nuclear officer John Herron said the NRC conducted extremely thorough safety and environmental reviews of Pilgrim’s application for license renewal and concluded the station can safely operate another 20 years.
"The decision ensures Pilgrim’s generation of safe, clean, reliable and low-cost energy will continue to benefit the New England area, as will the plant’s existing 650 jobs and its $135 million in annual economic impact," Herron added.
Pilgrim vice president Robert Smith said NRC approval of Pilgrim’s license renewal application was the culmination of extensive and rigorous review by the NRC and a tremendous amount of hard work by Entergy.
"The NRC spent more than 20,000 hours conducting inspections and reviews," Smith added.
"At the end of the process, we effectively demonstrated that our systems, structures and components will continue to safely perform their intended function during the 20-year renewal period."
The 688MW nuclear power plant generates almost 10% of the electricity needs of Massachusetts.
