The U.S. branch of French multinational AREVA and decommissioning specialist NorthStar on Wednesday announced the formation of a joint venture for decommissioning and dismantlement of closed U.S. nuclear power facilities — beginning with plants now owned by Entergy.
Accelerated Decommissioning Partners (ADP) will offer the D&D expertise of both companies: the nuclear component dismantlement and spent fuel management experience of AREVA Nuclear Materials and the demolition and environmental remediation know-how of New York-based NorthStar, according to an AREVA press release.
The partners by the end of this year hope to close a deal to acquire a number of nuclear plants from one U.S. power company once they are retired, the release says. In each case, the joint venture would take ownership of the facility and its spent fuel; the cleanup work would be paid for through the site’s designated decommissioning fund.
In a telephone interview Wednesday, AREVA Nuclear Materials CEO Sam Shakir confirmed that Entergy is the utility in question. Entergy owns 11 nuclear reactors at nine locations around the country; several have closed or are planned for closure: the Indian Point Energy Center in Buchanan, N.Y.; the Pilgrim Nuclear Power Station in Plymouth, Mass.; the Vermont Yankee Nuclear Power Plant in Vernon, Vt.; and the Palisades Nuclear Power Plant near South Haven, Mich.
Accelerated Decommissioning Partners also hopes to secure additional work in the near future, Shakir said.
“ADP offers the industry an innovative approach to accelerate decommissioning of shutdown nuclear power facilities through a complete and permanent transfer of ownership of the asset, including used nuclear fuel, from utility owners to an entity who is an expert in decommissioning and used fuel management,” he said in a statement.
