(KLZA)-- During their February Board meeting, Nebraska Public Power Districts Board members approved moving forward with extending the license to operate the Cooper Nuclear Station near Brownville for an additional 20 years, which would be 2054.

The Cooper Plant was issued an operating license on January 18, 1974 with the license renewed in November of 2010, allowing the plant to operating through January, 18, 2034.

NPPD employs approximately 680 people at the plant with an annual payroll of around $76 million. The plant generates about 835 megawatts of electricity, serving more than 385 thousand residential customers.

According to an online report, the Cooper Nuclear Station was named after Humboldt residents Guy Cooper Jr. and Guy Cooper Sr. who combined to serve 27 years on the NPPD Board of Directors.

O.A. Cooper, father of Guy Cooper Sr. built the first electrical plant in Humboldt in 1890.