This week Duke Energy’s Brunswick Nuclear Plant celebrates 40 years of operation and looks forward to at least 20 more, plant spokeswoman Karen Williams said Thursday.

The Brunswick plant is a two-unit GE boiling water reactor (BWR 4), located about two miles from Southport. The plant was approved by the N.C. Utilities Commission in 1968, and construction began in 1970. The first unit began commercial operation in 1975; the second in 1977. Much of the power it generates stays in southeastern North Carolina, Williams said.

The1,870-megawatt plant was the first nuclear power plant built in North Carolina, according to Duke Energy.

The plant was designed and built for Carolina Power and Light, which became Progress Energy through a merger in 2000. Duke Energy acquired Progress Energy in 2011.

A recent news release quotes Randy Gideon, site vice president, as saying the plant “keeps getting better.” Williams elaborated on that statement this week.

“We are continually working to make the plant run better,” she said. “In the last two to three years we have invested millions of dollars in this plant. This year, the plant has produced more energy than in a comparable time period.”

Williams explained that the plant is becoming more efficient and reliable because Duke Energy is “going in and replacing, upgrading and modernizing” it. “Our employees are some of the most talented people in the world. They are highly trained and deeply committed to safety," she said. "That’s why this plant has quietly purred along here in the woods. There has been no significant event.”

Regular upkeep has been a factor in smooth operations, Williams said. Each year, usually in February, one of the units, on an alternating basis, is shut down for maintenance.

That yearly maintenance, which takes weeks, is not only good for the plant, but it also provides a bump for area business, Williams said.

“When we shut down for an outage, we typically bring in 1,000 to 2,000 supplemental workers … That’s something people count on in this environment, like tourism,” she said. “These people rent houses, stay in hotels, eat out, use services, get their hair cut. And it’s usually at a time of year when there are no other people coming in.”

The nuclear plant’s regular operations have a significant economic impact as well. Williams said the facility paid $2.8 million last year in local property taxes and $39 million in state and local payroll taxes.

When it was first commissioned, the Brunswick Nuclear Plant received a 40-year operating license, Williams said. Now, however, it has gotten the green light for another two decades.

“We went through a process a few years ago to extend our operating license … and got an extension for another 20 years,” she said. “The license runs out in [20]34 and [20]36 for the two units.”

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission’s decision to extend the life of the plant was based on an extensive review it performed. Williams said most of the nation’s nuclear plants have gone through this process to earn an extension, and a 60-year plant lifespan is more the norm these days.