Commercial Decommissioning

Power company Entergy has shipped to Tennessee about 64,000 gallons of contaminated water that had been stored in portable swimming pools and industrial bladders at the company’s shuttered Vermont Yankee Nuclear Power Plant, spokesman Marty Cohn said Monday. The use of the pools, which was revealed in photos released in February, drew criticism from local residents […]

The Pilgrim Nuclear Power Station will cease operations on May 31, 2019, owner Entergy announced Thursday, meaning the company will refuel the Massachusetts plant next year. The company had previously said shutdown would occur sometime from 2017 to 2019. Entergy spokesman Patrick O’Brien said by phone Thursday that the company selected the 2019 date because that’s the cutoff for […]

Power company Entergy has shipped about 54,000 gallons of contaminated water to Tennessee that had been stored in portable swimming pools and industrial bladders at its Vermont Yankee Nuclear Power Plant, spokesman Marty Cohn said Monday. The use of the pools, which was revealed in photos released in February, drew criticism from local residents and lawmakers, […]

The Oswego County Legislature is nearing a settlement with the owner of the James A. FitzPatrick Nuclear Power Plant that would halve the company’s tax obligations within the country in coming years. Under the proposed settlement, if FitzPatrick closes and begins decommissioning in 2017 as scheduled, operator Entergy would fork over $27.5 million in declining tax […]

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission on Monday began its second round of inspections at the Pilgrim Nuclear Power Station associated with increased oversight at the Massachusetts plant. The commission downgraded Pilgrim’s safety rating in September after a series of unplanned shutdowns and safety relief valve issues, moving the plant into Column 4 of the NRC Action […]

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission has denied a petitioner’s request that the regulator inspect the Vermont Yankee Nuclear Power Plant and the Kewaunee Power Station to determine if issues with Belgian nuclear power plants could have implications in the U.S. Petitioner Michael Mulligan spoke with NRC’s petition review board in May 2015 concerning several thousand cracks […]

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission on Monday began its second round of inspections at the Pilgrim Nuclear Power Station associated with increased oversight at the Massachusetts plant. The commission downgraded Pilgrim’s safety rating in September as a result of unplanned shutdowns and safety relief valve issues, moving the plant into Column 4 of the NRC Action […]

Sellafield Ltd., the firm leading decommissioning of England’s Sellafield nuclear site, became a wholly owned subsidiary of the U.K.’s Nuclear Decommissioning Authority on Friday. As the U.K. nuclear regulator, NDA owns 17 sites across England, Wales, and Scotland. Sellafield Ltd. was previously owned by private consortium Nuclear Management Partners. The U.K. government announced the move […]

Entergy announced Tuesday that it will hire Securitas Critical Infrastructure Services to provide protective services for the Vermont Yankee Nuclear Power Plant starting June 28. Vermont Yankee security manager Patrick Ryan said in a statement that outsourcing plant security will “greatly reduce administrative burden over the next four years,” noting that the top priority “continues […]

U.S. In a significant decommissioning milestone, EnergySolutions subsidiary ZionSolutions announced Tuesday that it had removed the last remaining large components from the Zion Nuclear Power Station in Illinois. The large components – which include the steam generators, pressurizers, piping components, reactor coolant pumps, and motors – also have been prepared for shipment and final disposition. Tuesday’s […]

Entergy announced Tuesday that it will hire Securitas Critical Infrastructure Services to provide protective services for the Vermont Yankee Nuclear Power Plant starting June 28.  Vermont Yankee security manager Patrick Ryan said in a statement that outsourcing plant security will “greatly reduce administrative burden over the next four years,” noting that the top priority “continues to be […]

Entergy, owner of the Pilgrim Nuclear Power Station, said Monday that it will work within the political process to oppose bills gaining momentum in Massachusetts that would give the state discretion over $25 million in annual funds the company would provide to supplement decommissioning at the plant. The state legislature’s Joint Committee on Telecommunications, Utilities, and Energy […]

Vermont, Massachusetts, Connecticut, and New York have co-signed a letter to the Nuclear Regulatory Commission asking the agency to eliminate its 60-year option for nuclear power plant decommissioning and require operators to complete the work within a decade. Current NRC regulations allow decommissioning plants to opt for SAFSTOR, which allows six decades for decommissioning or until […]

Power provider Entergy wants the Nuclear Regulatory Commission to reserve the right to issue regulatory exemptions at nuclear power plants undergoing decommissioning. That’s one of the suggestions the operator of the Vermont Yankee, James A. FitzPatrick, and Pilgrim plants made in its letter to the NRC at the conclusion of the agency’s public comment period on […]

Entergy, owner of the Pilgrim Nuclear Power Station, said Monday that it will work within the political process to oppose bills gaining momentum in Massachusetts that would allow state discretion over $25 million in annual Entergy decommissioning accounts. The state legislature’s Joint Committee on Telecommunications, Utilities, and Energy on Wednesday recommended approval of the bills. […]

Vermont, Massachusetts, Connecticut, and New York on Friday co-signed a letter to the Nuclear Regulatory Commission asking the agency to eliminate its 60-year option for nuclear power plant decommissioning and require operators to complete the work within a decade. Current NRC regulations allow decommissioning plants to opt for SAFSTOR, which allows 60 years for decommissioning […]

The James A. FitzPatrick Nuclear Power Plant remains on schedule for permanent shutdown in January 2017, despite an announcement this week that the New York state Senate’s new budget plan includes $100 million meant to expedite access to tax credits for renewable energy sources. The New York Public Service Commission in February announced a “rescue […]

Members of the Vermont congressional delegation are urging the Nuclear Regulatory Commission to give local stakeholders “a seat at the table” in the decommissioning process for nuclear power plants. Sen. Patrick Leahy (D), Sen. Bernie Sanders (I), and Rep. Peter Welch (D), joined by 12 colleagues in the House and Senate, wrote a letter to […]

  A flawed market design and the fall of natural gas prices are among the contributors nuclear power facility owners cite when prematurely closing facilities. That has been no different with Entergy, a power company that announced the closures of three plants in 2014-15: Vermont Yankee, FitzPatrick, and Pilgrim. Consensus from the surrounding communities over the […]

Nuclear Regulatory Commissioner Kristine Svinicki suggested Tuesday that NRC staff consider expediting parts of its decommissioning rulemaking, so that the new rules can be applied to any nuclear power plants that announce premature shutdowns in the next two years. The rulemaking is in an effort to improve nuclear plant decommissioning regulations, with a particular focus […]

Southern California Edison expects in June or July to select a prime contractor for decommissioning of its shuttered San Onofre Nuclear Generating Station near San Diego, a senior official said last week. SCE Vice President Tom Palmisano, SONGS decommissioning and chief nuclear officer, said he could not discuss the criteria the company is using in […]

Members of the Vermont congressional delegation are urging the Nuclear Regulatory Commission to give local stakeholders “a seat at the table” in the decommissioning process for nuclear power plants. Sen. Patrick Leahy (D), Sen. Bernie Sanders (I), and Rep. Peter Welch (D), joined by 12 House and Senate members, wrote a letter to NRC Chairman […]

The James A. FitzPatrick Nuclear Power Plant remains on schedule for permanent shutdown in January 2017, despite an announcement this week that the New York state Senate’s new budget plan includes $100 million meant to expedite access to tax credits for renewable energy sources. The New York Public Service Commission in February announced a “rescue plan” […]

Nuclear Regulatory Commissioner Kristine Svinicki suggested Tuesday that NRC staff consider expediting parts of its decommissioning rulemaking, so that the new rules can be applied to any nuclear power plants that announce premature shutdowns in the next two years. The rulemaking is in an effort to improve nuclear plant decommissioning regulations, with a particular focus on reducing […]

Southern California Edison expects in June or July to select a prime contractor for decommissioning of its shuttered San Onofre Nuclear Generating Station near San Diego, a senior official said last week. SCE Vice President Tom Palmisano, SONGS decommissioning and chief nuclear officer, said he could not discuss the criteria the utility is using in […]

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission has scheduled a briefing on its power reactor decommissioning rulemaking for 9 a.m. Tuesday in Rockville, Md. The commission has directed its staff to by 2019 complete a decommissioning rulemaking in an effort to improve the regulatory framework for decommissioning power plants. The public comment period for the rulemaking is open through Friday. […]

A Nuclear Regulatory Commission manager said Thursday that the regulatory exemption process for decommissioning power plants doesn’t deprive the public of any “awareness,” though the agency wants to remove the need for such exemptions in its 2019 decommissioning rulemaking. The commission in 2014 directed its staff to complete by 2019 the decommissioning rulemaking, which is the […]

Roughly 200 nuclear power plants around the world are set to be decommissioned in the coming two decades, so regulators, utilities, and companies need to begin preparing now. A panel of U.S. and international experts will discuss issues including decommissioning costs and challenges, dealing with waste, and remediation. The session, “International Nuclear Power Plant Decommissioning: […]

U.S. The Nuclear Regulatory Commission issued a notice of a standard license modification to Duke Energy Corp. on Thursday, as the company prepares to move material from its spent fuel pool at the Crystal River Nuclear Plant into dry casks, starting in 2017.  The modification requires Duke Energy to have a safeguard contingency plan for response […]

Power company Entergy has removed contaminated water from the six portable swimming pools it has been using for storage at the Vermont Yankee Nuclear Power Plant, company spokesman Marty Cohn said Friday. Photos of the containers surfaced earlier this month, drawing criticism from Vermont Speaker of the House Shap Smith, who likened them to “kiddie pools.” Nuclear Regulatory Commission spokesman Neil Sheehan […]