# Monticello Nuclear Generating Plant *A nuclear power plant in Monticello, Minnesota, operated under a federal license.* The Monticello Nuclear Generating Plant is a nuclear power station at [[Monticello]], Minnesota. It operates under a license from the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission. On December 30, 2024, the Commission issued Subsequent Renewed Facility Operating License No. DPR-22 for Monticello Unit 1. The license authorizes operation "at reactor core power levels not in excess of 2,004 megawatts thermal." The Record of Decision on the subsequent license renewal was published in the Federal Register on January 3, 2025.[^1] The American Nuclear Society reported the renewal on January 6, 2025.[^2] Wikipedia's article on the plant states that it began operating in 1971. The article identifies it as a General Electric BWR-3 boiling-water reactor and lists Northern States Power / [[Xcel Energy]] as the utility. According to the article, the plant was uprated from 600 to 671 megawatts electric.[^3] The project's at-issue record states that the plant employs roughly 640 people. The record attributes to the City of Monticello the description of the plant as one of the city's largest property taxpayers. The same record states that the plant's share of the county tax base is not published.[^4] ## Who - **Licensor.** The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission issued Subsequent Renewed Facility Operating License No. DPR-22 and published the Record of Decision in the Federal Register.[^1] - **Utility.** Wikipedia lists Northern States Power / Xcel Energy as the utility.[^3] - **City of Monticello.** The at-issue record attributes to the city the description of the plant as one of its largest property taxpayers.[^4] ## What The licensing action at the center of the plant's current authority is a subsequent license renewal for Unit 1. In that action, the Nuclear Regulatory Commission set the licensed limit at 2,004 megawatts thermal of reactor core power.[^1] Wikipedia gives the following technical details: - The reactor is a General Electric BWR-3 design. - The plant's electrical output was raised from 600 to 671 megawatts electric.[^3] ## When - **1971.** The plant began operating, according to Wikipedia.[^3] - **Original license.** Wikipedia gives the original operating license a term running to 2010.[^3] - **2006.** A license renewal extended the term to September 8, 2030, according to Wikipedia.[^3] - **March 22, 2023.** A public hearing on license renewal was held. The project's source notes record that an NRC health physicist characterized the amount of tritium at that hearing. The wording of that characterization is not preserved in the record available to this article. Minnesota Public Radio News published coverage of tritium at the plant the same day.[^5] - **December 30, 2024.** The Nuclear Regulatory Commission issued Subsequent Renewed Facility Operating License No. DPR-22.[^1] - **January 3, 2025.** The Record of Decision was published in the Federal Register.[^1] - **January 6, 2025.** The American Nuclear Society reported the renewal as issued.[^2] Wikipedia describes the subsequent renewal as extending operation toward 2050.[^3] The Federal Register notice is the primary record of the renewal itself.[^1] ## Where The plant is in Monticello, Minnesota.[^4] The project's Wright County history compilation includes the plant among Wright County sites, citing Wikipedia.[^3] ## How many - **Employees.** Roughly 640 people work at the plant, according to the at-issue record, which draws on the City of Monticello.[^4] - **Licensed thermal power.** Licensed reactor core power is not in excess of 2,004 megawatts thermal.[^1] - **Electrical output.** Output is 671 megawatts electric after an uprate from 600, according to Wikipedia.[^3] - **License terms.** Wikipedia describes three successive license terms: an original license to 2010, a 2006 renewal to September 8, 2030, and a subsequent renewal toward 2050.[^3] The subsequent renewal is documented in the Federal Register.[^1] - **Share of the county tax base.** No published figure exists, according to the at-issue record.[^4] ## In the at-issue record At-issue pair AI-Humphrey-057 sets two statements side by side: - the City of Monticello's description of the plant as one of its largest property taxpayers; and - the absence of any published figure for the plant's share of the county tax base.[^4] The pair is anchored to an August 2026 White House fact sheet. That fact sheet announces a presidential declaration of a national emergency to secure America's bulk power system. The project chose this anchor on the stated ground that the fiscal and grid dependency on single generating assets is the emergency's subject.[^4] The record available to this article does not establish whether the fact sheet names the Monticello plant. ## In the Minnesota record ### Where - The plant is in Monticello, Minnesota.[^4] ### When - The plant began operating in 1971, according to Wikipedia.[^3] - Subsequent Renewed Facility Operating License No. DPR-22 was issued on December 30, 2024, and published in the Federal Register on January 3, 2025.[^1] ## Notes [^1]: U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, *Record of Decision, subsequent license renewal, Monticello Nuclear Generating Plant Unit 1*, Federal Register (January 3, 2025) — issuance of Subsequent Renewed Facility Operating License No. DPR-22 on December 30, 2024, and the licensed limit of 2,004 megawatts thermal. https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/FR-2025-01-03/pdf/2024-31579.pdf [^2]: American Nuclear Society, *NRC issues subsequent license renewal to Monticello plant* (January 6, 2025) — contemporaneous trade report of the renewal. https://www.ans.org/news/2025-01-06/article-6650/nrc-issues-subsequent-license-renewal-to-monticello-plant [^3]: Wikipedia, *Monticello Nuclear Generating Plant* (CC BY-SA 4.0; graded B in the project's Wright County history compilation, 2026-09-02) — start of operation in 1971, reactor type, utility, uprate, and license terms. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Monticello_Nuclear_Generating_Plant [^4]: Minnesota wiki at-issue record AI-Humphrey-057 (Wright_Claims_Exposure_Matrix_2026-09-02.md, row W3; underlying source the City of Monticello, monticellomn.gov, which is not among this article's citable URLs), anchored to The White House, *Fact Sheet: President Donald J. Trump Declares a National Emergency to Secure America's Bulk Power System* (August 2026) — roughly 640 employees, the city's description of the plant as one of its largest property taxpayers, the unpublished share of the county tax base, and the anchor declaration. https://www.whitehouse.gov/fact-sheets/2026/08/fact-sheet-president-donald-j-trump-declares-a-national-emergency-to-secure-americas-bulk-power-system/ [^5]: Minnesota Public Radio News, *What we know about the Monticello nuclear plant tritium leak* (March 22, 2023) — coverage of tritium at the plant on the date of the license-renewal public hearing. https://www.mprnews.org/story/2023/03/22/what-we-know-about-the-monticello-nuclear-plant-tritium-leak