Palisades

By John Stang Limited liability companies and the COVID-19 pandemic’s effects on long-term scheduling dominated discussion in a Nuclear Regulatory Commission webinar Tuesday on nearly completed recommendations for financial assurances for decommissioning of commercial nuclear power plants. The session was intended to receive input from the public on April 6 draft final recommendations from a […]

A working group of staff at the Nuclear Regulatory Commission is scheduled in March to issue a formal set of recommendations to enhance financial assurances for decommissioning of nuclear power plants. Senior managers at the agency established the working group last September to consider the matter in the face of a growing trend in the […]

Comprehensive Decommissioning International (CDI) has secured the contract for decommissioning the retired Pilgrim Nuclear Power Station in Massachusetts, one of the company’s owners said Monday. The deal is worth hundreds of millions of dollars, Canadian engineering firm SNC-Lavalin stated in a press release. It was signed Friday, CDI spokesman Pat O’Brien said by email. The […]

At the end of the last federal fiscal year on Sept. 30, the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission was overseeing decommissioning of 23 nuclear power and early demonstration reactors. Of those reactors, 11 were undergoing active decommissioning and the remaining 12 were in SAFSTOR, or safe storage, in which final cleanup can be delayed for up […]

The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission on Monday formally approved a reduction in the emergency preparedness requirements for the retired Pilgrim Nuclear Power Station in Massachusetts. The changes include elimination of a dedicated 10-mile emergency planning zone in the license for the Cape Cod property. The requirement for a specific off-site radiological emergency response plan will […]

EnergySolutions on Tuesday said it had sealed the deal for acquisition of reactor Unit 2 (TMI-2) at the Three Mile Island nuclear power plant in Pennsylvania, which famously partially melted down 40 years ago. Under the newly signed contract, the Salt Lake City-based nuclear services firm will buy TMI-2’s assets and obtain its licenses from […]

The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission plans through fall to hold 11 public meetings in communities near nuclear power plants that have closed or are nearing the end of the service life. The purpose of the meetings is to discuss best practices for community boards that would provide advice on decommissioning of the facilities, as required […]

The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission on Thursday approved the transfer of the licenses for Exelon’s retired Oyster Creek Nuclear Generating Station in New Jersey to Holtec International. Holtec expects by next month to complete its acquisition of the facility, announced about a month prior to its closure in September 2018. It will own the trust […]

Holtec International said Tuesday it aims to buy a fourth nuclear power plant that is on the verge of retirement, the Indian Point Energy Center in upstate New York. The New Jersey energy technology company and Indian Point owner Entergy announced the planned deal in largely identical press releases Tuesday morning. If the sale goes […]

By John Stang and Wayne Barber While it faces a potential 10-year ban on contracts with the Canadian government, SNC-Lavalin’s legal woes north of the border do not appear to automatically translate to similar troubles in the United States. The Montreal-based engineering and construction multinational is the parent company to Department of Energy contractor Atkins […]

By John Stang Entergy Wholesale Commodities, which operates three nuclear plants in the northeastern United States, on Wednesday posted another steep loss for the fourth quarter of 2018. The business reported a $373 million loss on an as-reported basis attributable to parent Entergy Corp., $2.04 per share. The loss on an operational basis was recorded […]

Entergy expects this year to select a company that will take ownership of its Indian Point nuclear power plant in New York for decommissioning, Chairman and CEO Leo Denault said Wednesday during an earnings teleconference with financial analysts. Denault did not elaborate on the numbers and identities of the prospective bidders for the deal. He said […]

Entergy Wholesale Commodities, which operates three nuclear plants in the northeastern United States, on Wednesday posted another steep loss for the fourth quarter of 2018. The business reported a $373 million loss on an as-reported basis, $2.04 per share. The loss on an operational basis was recorded at $158 million, or $0.87 per share. While […]

Power company Entergy on Friday completed the sale of its shuttered Vermont Yankee nuclear power plant to NorthStar Group Services, a deal more than two years in making. The announcement closes a first-of-its-kind deal for managing post-closure cleanup of these facilities, with the owner passing full responsibility for decommissioning, site restoration, and spent fuel management […]

The owner and prospective owner of the Pilgrim Nuclear Power Station in Massachusetts on Friday filed the application and related paperwork for transferring the plant’s Nuclear Regulatory Commission license. Entergy wants to sell the soon-to-close single-reactor facility to Holtec, which would then own its decommissioning trust fund and all responsibility for decommissioning, site restoration, and […]

Two members of Massachusetts’ congressional delegation on Monday demanded assurance that the planned sale and decommissioning of the Pilgrim Nuclear Power Station will not endanger the public’s safety or security. Sen. Ed Markey (D) and Rep. Bill Keating (D) made their case in letters to power company Entergy and energy technology firm Holtec International, respectively […]

By John Stang Staffers for two U.S. lawmakers and others on Tuesday raised concerns about whether there is enough money available for decommissioning the Pilgrim Nuclear Power Station in Massachusetts. The issue came up during a Nuclear Regulatory Commission meeting ahead of the anticipated application next month to transfer the plant’s operational license from owner […]

Decommissioning of the nearly retired Pilgrim Nuclear Power Station in Massachusetts could be largely complete in less than a decade if it can be sold, according to its owner and prospective buyer. Otherwise, the process could stretch on for decades, power company Entergy and energy technology firm Holtec International will tell the Nuclear Regulatory Commission […]

The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission last week received the application to transfer the operating license for the Oyster Creek Generating Station in New Jersey from owner Exelon to prospective buyer Holtec International. Spokespeople for the NRC and Holtec confirmed the application had been filed and said it should be publicly available this week. No additional […]

By John Stang Exelon and Holtec International aim by the end of this month to submit their application with the Nuclear Regulatory Commission to transfer the operating license for the soon-to-close Oyster Creek Generating Station in New Jersey. The two companies had initially hoped to submit the transfer application by Aug. 17. However, at an Aug. 15 […]

Exelon and Holtec international are expected within a matter of days to submit their application with the Nuclear Regulatory Commission for transfer of the license for the soon-to-close Oyster Creek Generating Station in New Jersey. Oyster Creek is one of three nuclear power plants Holtec plans to buy once they have ceased operations. Last week, […]

By John Stang Holtec International announced this week it would buy three nuclear power plants set to close in coming months and years, then turn them over for decommissioning by a joint venture recently formed with a Canadian engineering corporation. On Tuesday, Chicago-based power company Exelon said it would sell its Oyster Creek Generating Station […]

Holtec International said Wednesday it plans to buy two more nuclear power plants for decommissioning, in addition to the single-site acquisition announced just one day earlier. Power company Entergy will sell its Pilgrim Nuclear Power Station in Plymouth, Mass., and its Palisades Power Plant in Covert, Mich., after the reactors are shut down and defueled, […]

Power company Entergy said Wednesday its earnings rose -m the first quarter of 2018 with assistance from the federal tax break and better weather. The numbers in the company’s nuclear power-intensive Wholesale Commodities segment also improved, though it remained a drag on the overall business. The New Orleans-based utility owner reported consolidated earnings of $133 […]

Power company Entergy said Wednesday earnings rose for the first quarter of 2018 with assistance from the federal tax break and better weather. The numbers in the company’s nuclear power-focused Wholesale Commodities segment also improved, though it remained a drag on the overall business. Entergy reported consolidated earnings of $133 million ($0.73 per share) on […]

French nuclear fuel cycle company New AREVA officially has a new name as of Tuesday: Orano. Orano is the result of a corporate restructuring AREVA initiated in 2016 that late last year resulted in the sale of the company’s nuclear power business to French utility EDF and other entities. What was left was almost entirely […]

Entergy has slightly narrowed its new timeline for closure of the Palisades Power Plant in Michigan, according to a recent letter to the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission. The power provider had planned to close the nuclear facility next October, but in September pushed that back to spring 2022 following the dissolution of a deal for […]

Entergy has slightly narrowed its new timeline for closure of the Palisades Power Plant in Michigan, according to a recent letter to the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission. The power provider had planned to close the nuclear facility next October, but last month pushed that back to spring 2022 following the dissolution of a deal for […]

Power company Entergy on Tuesday reported higher earnings on both an as-reported and operational basis for the third quarter of the year. After-tax as-reported earnings rose from $388.2 million ($2.16 per share) in third-quarter 2016 to $398.2 million ($2.21 per share) in the latest earnings period. Operational earnings, on a non-generally accepted accounting principles basis, […]

Power company Entergy on Tuesday reported higher earnings on both an as-reported and operational basis for the third quarter of the year. After-tax as-reported earnings rose from $388.2 million ($2.16 per share) in third-quarter 2016 to $398.2 million ($2.21 per share) in the latest earnings period. Operational earnings, on a non-generally accepted accounting principles basis, […]