The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) has approved a 20-year license renewal for Georgia’s Edwin I. Hatch Nuclear Plant, allowing the facility’s two reactors to continue operating well into the 2050s.
The renewal extends the operating license for Unit 1 through August 2054 and Unit 2 through June 2058, enabling the reactors to operate for up to 80 years. The approval preserves approximately 1.8 gigawatts of electricity generation capacity on the regional power grid and marks one of the fastest license renewals completed by the NRC under its new streamlined review process.
Plant Hatch is operated by Southern Nuclear in Baxley. It’s Georgia’s oldest nuclear power station, having opened in 1975. Hatch consists of two boiling water reactors with a combined generating capacity of roughly 1,800 megawatts. The plant is jointly owned by Georgia Power, Oglethorpe Power Corporation, MEAG Power, and Dalton Utilities. More than 900 employees work at the site, which has operated as a major economic driver for Southeast Georgia for decades.
According to the NRC, the Hatch renewal was completed in less than 12 months after the agency accepted Southern Nuclear’s application in June 2025. The expedited review made Hatch the second and third reactors nationwide to receive a subsequent license renewal under the NRC’s accelerated process. Previous renewal reviews typically required more than two years to complete.
The NRC said its staff conducted both safety and environmental reviews before approving the extension. Agency officials noted that the streamlined process was designed to improve efficiency while maintaining the agency’s safety standards.
The approval comes as utilities across the country seek to extend the lifespan of existing nuclear facilities amid growing electricity demand and increasing interest in carbon-free energy sources. Subsequent license renewals allow nuclear reactors to operate for up to 80 years if they continue to meet federal safety and environmental requirements.
Southern Nuclear first applied for the renewal in May 2025. The NRC had previously approved a 20-year license extension for Plant Hatch in 2002, extending Unit 1’s operating license through 2034 and Unit 2’s through 2038. The latest approval adds another two decades to those operating periods.
