Commercial Decommissioning

In what many of the members described as the hardest decision of their tenures, the Omaha Public Power District’s (OPPD) Board of Directors unanimously agreed on Thursday to close the Fort Calhoun Station by December 2016. OPPD now faces a $1.2 billion decommissioning project at the Blair, Neb., nuclear power plant, which began operating in 1973. […]

An environmental group is asking the Vermont Public Service Board (PSB) to reconsider its denial of new evidence in reviewing Entergy’s plans to build an independent spent fuel storage installation (ISFSI) at the closed Vermont Yankee Nuclear Power Plant. Entergy plans to transfer nearly 3,000 spent fuel assemblies into 45 dry casks by the end of 2020, […]

New York state Sen. Patty Ritchie (R) is trying to force power provider Entergy to sell its James A. FitzPatrick Nuclear Power Plant to the state, the latest attempt to keep the Oswego County facility alive and save the jobs of more than 600 workers. Ritchie, who has championed zero-emission credits in the name of […]

Energy company Exelon said this week it will close its Nine Mile Point Nuclear Generating Station Unit 1 and its single-reactor Ginna Nuclear Power Plant if New York state officials don’t approve nuclear incentives under the Clean Energy Standard (CES) by September. Gov. Andrew Cuomo in December directed the Public Service Department to create the […]

Exelon said this week it will close its Nine Mile Point Nuclear Generating Station Unit 1 and its single-reactor Ginna Nuclear Power Plant if New York officials don’t approve nuclear incentives under the Clean Energy Standard (CES) by September. Gov. Andrew Cuomo in December directed the Public Service Department to create the CES, which includes […]

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission’s Inspector General’s Office has recommended the agency  take four actions to improve internal controls related to decommissioning funds reviews at nuclear power plants. “The agency has adequate processes in place for coordinating with licensees to address possible decommissioning fund shortfalls,” according to the report made public on Monday. “However, the Office of the Inspector […]

New York state Sen. Patty Ritchie (R) is trying to force power provider Entergy to sell its James A. FitzPatrick Nuclear Power Plant to the state, the latest attempt to keep the Oswego County facility alive and save the jobs of more than 600 workers. Ritchie, who has championed state nuclear tax incentives in the […]

The Seabrook Station nuclear power plant in New Hampshire is “degraded but operable,” the Nuclear Regulatory Commission said this week in response to Massachusetts lawmakers’ continued calls to close the 26-year-old facility. State Sen. Kathleen O’Connor Ives (D), who first brought the issue up in 2013, and state Sen. Daniel Wolf (D) joined state Reps. […]

Southern California ratepayers are paying about $500 million less in premature shutdown costs at the San Onofre Nuclear Generating Station (SONGS) than the plant’s majority owner, Southern California Edison, had sought  in a settlement agreement, according to the company’s latest filing with the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC). CPUC announced in April the reopening of the […]

The Seabrook Station nuclear power plant in New Hampshire is “degraded but operable,” the Nuclear Regulatory Commission said this week in response to Massachusetts lawmakers’ calls to close the 26-year-old facility. State Sens. Daniel Wolf (D) and Kathleen O’Connor (D), along with state Reps. Ann-Margaret Ferrante (D) and James Kelcourse (R), penned a May 10 letter asking […]

Southern California ratepayers are paying about $500 million less in costs for the premature shutdown costs of the San Onofre Nuclear Generating Station (SONGS) than plant owner Southern California Edison had sought in a settlement agreement, according to the company’s latest filing with the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC). The commission announced in April the reopening of the […]

Southern California residents are demanding that the federal government expeditiously remove about 1,600 tons of nuclear waste from the San Onofre Nuclear Generating Station in San Diego County. The recently formed Secure Nuclear Waste group, which includes residents from San Diego and Orange counties, is holding a public meeting at 6 p.m. Wednesday at Laguna […]

Utility Exelon said Thursday it will close its Clinton and Quad Cities nuclear power plants respectively in 2017 and 2018, citing uncertainty surrounding a controversial energy plan it pushed for in the Illinois General Assembly this cycle. The state legislature, which wrapped up its spring legislative session on Tuesday, failed to send a budget to Republican Gov. Bruce Rauner […]

Entergy, owner of the shuttered Vermont Yankee Nuclear Power Plant, has reached a property tax agreement with Vernon, Vt., that will see the utility pay the town significantly less annually as the plant moves toward decommissioning. The plant’s value is now set at $78 million, down from the previous $250 million valuation. The agreement was […]

U.S. The Nuclear Regulatory Commission approved on Tuesday the transfer of the license for the La Crosse Boiling Water Reactor in Genoa, Wis., from the Dairyland Power Cooperative to EnergySolutions subsidiary LaCrosseSolutions LLC. The license transfer, which Dairyland requested in October, allows LaCrosseSolutions to expedite decommissioning activities at the site, NRC said in a press […]

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission approved on Tuesday the transfer of the license for the La Crosse Boiling Water Reactor in Genoa, Wis., from the Dairyland Power Cooperative to EnergySolutions subsidiary LaCrosseSolutions LLC. The license transfer, which Dairyland requested in October, allows LaCrosseSolutions to expedite decommissioning activities at the site, NRC said in a press release. The La […]

Entergy, owner of the shuttered Vermont Yankee Nuclear Power Plant, has reached a property tax agreement with Vernon, Vt., that will see the utility pay the town significantly less annually as the plant moves toward decommissioning. The agreement was reached Tuesday, setting the assessed value of Vermont Yankee at $78 million, while establishing a fixed municipal payment […]

About 600 people traveled to Springfield, Ill., Tuesday to support continued operation of the Quad Cities Generating Station, as owner Exelon awaits legislation that could potentially save the nuclear plant. Local TV station KWQC reported the show of support for the Cordova, Ill., facility, which along with another Illinois nuclear plant, the Clinton Power Station, could potentially close. […]

The California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) announced Monday that it is reopening the settlement case that resulted in state ratepayers shouldering $3.3 billion of the $4.7 billion cost to prematurely shut down the San Onofre Nuclear Generating Station (SONGS) in San Diego County. CPUC said it will re-evaluate whether the settlement is still reasonable, in […]

The California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) announced Monday that it is reopening the settlement case that resulted in state ratepayers shouldering $3.3 billion of the $4.7 billion cost to prematurely shut down the San Onofre Nuclear Generating Station (SONGS) in San Diego County. CPUC said it will re-evaluate whether the settlement is still reasonable, in light of […]

U.S. Power company Entergy reduced the workforce at its Vermont Yankee Nuclear Power Plant to 136 employees on Thursday, down from 343 employees in January 2015, when the plant entered SAFSTOR decommissioning. According to an Entergy press release, 80 employees either retired or left the company on Thursday, while 13 employees transferred to another Entergy […]

Entergy, owner of the Vermont Yankee Nuclear Power Plant, improperly withdrew $282,000 from the site’s $600 million decommissioning trust fund last year for spent fuel management purposes, the Nuclear Regulatory Commission announced Wednesday. However, Entergy will not be fined, as the regulator admitted there are “issues associated with the clarity of NRC regulatory guidance.” Entergy […]

The Department of Energy official leading the agency’s consent-based nuclear waste storage siting initiative will meet with officials and residents near Southern California’s San Onofre Nuclear Generating Station (SONGS) in response to a request from U.S. Rep. Darrell Issa (R-Calif.). The program is DOE’s latest attempt to find a permanent home for U.S. nuclear waste, […]

Entergy, owner of the Vermont Yankee Nuclear Power Plant, improperly withdrew $282,000 from the site’s $600 million decommissioning trust fund last year for spent fuel management purposes, the Nuclear Regulatory Commission announced Wednesday. However, Entergy will not be fined, as the regulator admitted there are “issues associated with the clarity of NRC regulatory guidance.” Entergy received a […]

The Department of Energy official leading the agency’s consent-based nuclear waste storage siting initiative will meet with officials and residents near Southern California’s San Onofre Nuclear Generating Station (SONGS) in response to a request from U.S. Rep. Darrell Issa (R-Calif.). The program is DOE’s latest attempt to find a permanent home for U.S. nuclear waste, including about […]

U.S. The Nuclear Regulatory Commission is issuing an exemption that allows Vermont Yankee Nuclear Power Plant owner Entergy to reduce its on-site insurance from about $1 billion to $50 million. In a notice issued this week, NRC reasoned that because Vermont Yankee is shut down, the severity of potential accidents that could occur at the […]

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission is issuing an exemption that allows Vermont Yankee Nuclear Power Plant owner Entergy to reduce its on-site insurance from about $1 billion to $50 million. In a notice issued this week, NRC reasoned that because Vermont Yankee is shut down, the severity of potential accidents that could occur at the plant […]

French state-owned power company EDF SA this week purchased Studsvik’s entire waste treatment operation, which includes sites in Sweden and the U.K., for about $44 million, the companies announced Wednesday. Sweden-based Studsvik’s waste treatment business offers low-level radioactive waste processing services globally, with an emphasis on Europe, and in 2015 produced roughly $21 million in revenue, […]

French state-owned power company EDF SA has purchased Studsvik’s entire waste treatment operation, which includes sites in Sweden and the U.K., for about $44 million, the companies announced Wednesday. Studsvik’s waste treatment business offers low-level radioactive waste processing services throughout Europe, and in 2015 produced roughly $21 million in revenue, according to a press release. The […]

The 10-mile emergency planning zone at the Vermont Yankee Nuclear Power Plant will shrink to within the site’s boundaries this week through a Nuclear Regulatory Commission-granted safety exemption. The NRC in December granted the standard safety requirement exemption at the plant, which ceased operations in 2014, reasoning that closed facilities pose lower safety risks than operating […]