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• Prairie Island nuclear plant files to renew its license
• Ellsworth schools reconfigure debt

By Amber Mensen, RiverTown Staff

RED WING, Minn. -- Prairie Island nuclear plant filed Tuesday morning to renew its operating license for up to 20 more years.

The plant is located just outside of Red Wing and across the Mississippi River from Diamond Bluff in Pierce County.

License renewal opens opportunities for new capital investment, thereby improving the tax base for the area, said Mike Wadley, site vice president for the plant.

"This really keeps 600-plus jobs in play for an additional 20 years here in the community," Wadley said.

Xcel Energy, which owns the plant, plans to seek additional megawatts at Prairie Island, plus possible replacement of the Unit 2 steam generators, Wadley said.

"There are some capacity enhancements we can do with a license renewal that we cannot justify from a business perspective otherwise," Wadley said.

The replacement cost for the Unit 2 steam generators would be more than $200 million, he added.

Licenses for Prairie Island's two reactor units will expire in 2013 and 2014, respectively. Unit 1 began operating in December 1973, and Unit 2 followed in December 1974.

The application for renewal was submitted to the Nuclear Regulatory Commission by Nuclear Management Company, which is the plant's licensed operator on behalf of Xcel.

"When we submit this renewal application, the NRC checks it for completeness and accuracy," Wadley said. "In six to eight weeks, they'll let us know if it's sufficient."

There are two parts to the license renewal, Wadley said, review of safety issues and an environmental review.

A draft of the environmental impact statement will be available for public comment, followed by a public meeting to discuss the findings.

A typical license renewal review takes about 22 months, Wadley said.

There are 104 operating reactors in the United States, Wadley said, most of which are expected to file for renewal. Forty-eight have had their licenses renewed, including Monticello, which is also owned by Xcel Energy.

Each reactor at Prairie Island has a capacity of 538 megawatts. The total plant output of 1,076 megawatts is enough to power about 1 million homes, according to Xcel Energy.

By Bill Kirk, RiverTown Staff

The Ellsworth School Board opted to refinance the district's debt at its Monday meeting.

The board approved borrowing $1.38 million through the sale of general obligation bonds and levying a tax in conjunction with it.

A history of the debt presented to the board shows it dates to 1998, with an interest rate in 4 to 5 percent range. In 2004, part of it was refinanced, lowering the rate to around 3 percent.

Now, rates are in the 2 to 3 percent range, so the remaining debt will be refinanced.

Settlement is expected on May 5, when the district will pay off its old debt and the debt schedule will restart. The average interest rate on the new debt is placed at 3.66 percent.

Helping the cause was the news that the district got a rating upgrade from Moody's Rating Service. Ellsworth schools moved up from an A3 rating to an A2, which is commendable for a district of its size and financial condition in Wisconsin, the board was told.

Because of the refinancing, the debt levy leveled out at approximately $1.28 million. Savings will be passed along to district taxpayers when the annual levy is determined at the annual meeting time, and will be spread over the remaining term of payment.