Commercial Decommissioning

Power company Entergy plans to remove contaminated water it has been storing in portable swimming pools at the Vermont Yankee Nuclear Power Plant by the end of this week, a company official said Monday. Photos of the storage practice surfaced earlier this month, drawing criticism from Vermont Speaker of the House Shap Smith, who compared […]

Power provider Entergy balked this week at yet another attempt by New York state to save the 40-year-old James A. FitzPatrick Nuclear Power Plant. In the latest effort, the New York Public Service Commission announced Tuesday the initiation of a “rescue plan” that would allow for expedited funding for the plant leading up to the […]

Southern California Edison’s fourth-quarter 2015 core earnings decreased by $66 million, or 20 cents per share, from the same period in 2014, parent company Edison International said Tuesday. In the earnings report, Edison said the SCE decrease stemmed mainly from lower authorized California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) revenue tied to implementation of the 2015 CPUC […]

The biggest decommissioning and waste management opportunities in Europe over the next 10 years will be in the United Kingdom and Germany, according to Nuclear Energy Insider’s 2016 European Nuclear Decommissioning and Waste Management Market Survey. The survey featured responses from more than 200 international industry experts. The U.K. recorded 52.1 percent support as the top […]

Power provider Entergy balked this week at yet another attempt by New York state to save the 40-year-old James A. FitzPatrick Nuclear Power Plant. In the latest effort, the New York Public Service Commission announced Tuesday the initiation of a “rescue plan” that would allow for expedited funding for the plant leading up to the rollout of Gov. Andrew […]

Southern California Edison’s fourth-quarter 2015 core earnings decreased by $66 million, or 20 cents per share, from the same period in 2014, parent company Edison International said Tuesday. In the earnings report, Edison said the SCE decrease stemmed mainly from lower authorized California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) revenue tied to implementation of the 2015 CPUC […]

Karl Herchenroeder RW Monitor 2/12/2016 A federal appeals court said this week’s it’s too soon to hear the state of Vermont’s challenge against federal regulators concerning use of the Vermont Yankee Nuclear Power Plant’s decommissioning trust fund. In a decision filed Monday, the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals dismissed Vermont’s petition, essentially saying the state […]

The San Onofre Nuclear Generating Station’s Community Engagement Panel has released its 2016 schedule, with the first-quarter meeting set for March 24. Consisting of government officials, scientists, and environmental group representatives, the 15-member panel will discuss the San Onofre environmental review process at its first meeting of the year. Plant operator Southern California Edison retired […]

Representatives for Entergy are scheduled to meet with the Vermont Public Service Board on Feb. 23 in Brattleboro to discuss the company´s petition for a certificate of public good that would authorize the construction of a second independent spent fuel storage installation pad at the Vermont Yankee Nuclear Power Plant.   The technical hearing is […]

Karl Herchenroeder RW Monitor 2/5/2016 The Nuclear Regulatory Commission has completed its review of the Vermont Yankee Nuclear Power Plant’s post-shutdown decommissioning activities report, concluding that plant owner Entergy’s decommissioning plan is on schedule and in compliance with NRC rules. Submitted in December 2014, Entergy’s report includes cost estimates for decommissioning and an affirmation that […]

Karl Herchenroeder RW Monitor 2/5/2016 International nuclear technology company Studsvik released its year-end earnings report this week, which showed that year-to-year sales decreased by 5 percent in fourth-quarter 2015. Fourth-quarter sales decreased from 247.8 million Swedish krona (SEK) ($29.3 million) in 2014 to 241.9 million SEK ($28.6 million) in 2015. Full-year sales decreased year-to-year from […]

Karl Herchenroeder RW Monitor 2/5/2016 New York lawmakers have initiated another effort to save the James A. FitzPatrick Nuclear Power Plant, despite power provider Entergy’s insistence that the facility will close in early 2017 or sooner. New York state Assemblyman Will Barclay (R), whose district includes the facility, recently introduced two bills meant to incentivize […]

New York lawmakers have initiated another effort to save the James A. FitzPatrick Nuclear Power Plant, despite power provider Entergy’s insistence that the plant will close in early 2017 or sooner. New York state Assemblyman Will Barclay (R), whose district includes the facility, recently introduced two bills meant to incentivize operation at the plant, one […]

A longtime energy industry executive will take over as chief nuclear officer and executive vice president at power provider Entergy on April 6. Christopher Bakken takes over from the retiring Jeff Forbes.   Entergy said Bakken would provide top-level management for operation of the company’s nuclear facilities in New York, Massachusetts, Vermont, Michigan, Louisiana, Mississippi, […]

Karl Herchenroeder RW Monitor 01/29/16 Bidding for the estimated $4.4 billion decommissioning contract at San Diego County’s San Onofre Nuclear Generating Station has closed with three suitors emerging. Maureen Brown, spokeswoman for plant operator Southern California Edison (SCE), confirmed Wednesday that the company is no longer accepting bids. The finalists are Team Holtec, a partnership […]

Karl Herchenroeder RW Monitor 01/29/16 When Nuclear Regulatory Commission safety requirements are reduced at the Vermont Yankee Nuclear Power Station in April, New Hampshire, Massachusetts, and Vermont will leach lose millions of dollars in funding for emergency planning and groundwater monitoring from plant operator Entergy. In December the NRC granted Entergy a standard safety requirement […]

Chris Schneidmiller RW Monitor 1/29/2016 Power provider Entergy this week dismissed New York’s new proposed strategy to keep nuclear power plants in the state solvent and operating, saying it is proceeding with the planned closure of the James A. FitzPatrick Nuclear Power Plant. In December, Gov. Andrew Cuomo ordered the state Department of Public Service […]

U.S. Crews at the Zion Nuclear Power Station last year completed the largest commercial dry cask storage campaign in the U.S. history, loading 61 vertical, concrete casks in 366 days. That’s according to Tony Orawiec, decommissioning plant manager at the Illinois facility that closed in 1998, who spoke at the EnergySolutions Customer Conference on Jan. […]

Entergy withdrew $57.9 million from the Vermont Yankee Nuclear Power Station’s decommissioning trust fund in 2015, while the overall trust fund balance decreased by about $69.1 million. That’s according to numbers Entergy released on Wednesday. The total trust fund balance as of Dec. 31, 2014, was recorded at $664.6 million; a year later it totaled […]

Crews at the Zion Nuclear Power Station last year completed the largest commercial dry cask storage campaign in the U.S. history, loading 61 vertical, concrete casks in 366 days. That’s according to Tony Orawiec, decommissioning plant manager at the Illinois facility that closed in 1998, who spoke at the EnergySolutions Customer Conference on Jan. 14 […]

Team Holtec, a subsidiary of Holtec International, has submitted a bid for the San Onofre Nuclear Generating Station’s estimated $4.4 billion decommissioning contract, which brings the list of confirmed suitors to three. Holtec International Senior Vice President Pierre Paul Oneid confirmed the group’s bid on Monday. Team Holtec is competing against a partnership of AECOM and […]

Karl Herchenroeder RW Monitor 01/22/16 A Vermont Department of Health official said Monday that groundwater monitoring crews on a few occasions in recent months have found contaminated samples near the Vermont Yankee nuclear power plant, but further investigation determined no public health risks. Radiological Health Chief Bill Irwin said crews both from Vermont and plant owner […]

IN THE U.S. Two contractor teams have submitted bids for the San Onofre Nuclear Generating Station’s estimated $4.4 billion decommissioning general contract. AECOM and EnergySolutions have submitted a bid together, and a Bechtel-led team has been confirmed as the second bidder in the process. San Onofre owner Southern California Edison has also said previously that […]

Two contractor teams have submitted bids for the San Onofre Nuclear Generating Station’s estimated $4.4 billion decommissioning general contract. AECOM and EnergySolutions have submitted a bid together, and a Bechtel-led team has been confirmed as the second bidder in the process. San Onofre owner Southern California Edison has also said previously that it also expects […]

A Vermont Department of Health official said Monday that groundwater monitoring crews on a few occasions in recent months have found contaminated samples near the Vermont Yankee nuclear power plant, but further investigation determined no public health risks. Radiological Health Chief Bill Irwin said crews both from Vermont and plant owner Entergy have identified contaminated samples […]

Vermont’s Nuclear Decommissioning Citizens Advisory Panel has scheduled a meeting for 6 p.m. Jan. 28 in Brattleboro, where Entergy representatives and state officials will brief attendees on decommissioning activities at the Vermont Yankee nuclear power plant. Entergy Government Affairs Manager Joe Lynch and Vermont Nuclear Engineer and Decommissioning Coordinator Tony Leshinskie are scheduled to give […]

IN THE U.S. Republic Services, owner of the West Lake Superfund site, said late last week that it remains “ready” as the Environmental Protection Agency moves forward with plans to build an isolation barrier at the landfill meant to prevent a nearby underground fire from reaching nuclear waste material. Republic Services spokesman Richard Callow weighed […]

Karl Herchenroeder RW Monitor 1/8/2016 The Wylfa Nuclear Power Station in Anglesey, Wales, was shut down on Dec. 30, ending a 44-year run for the United Kingdom’s oldest nuclear plant. The closure comes five years later than originally planned. Operator Magnox ceased fuel supply to the plant in 2008, but in 2010 found a way […]

Seven nuclear power reactors shut down worldwide in 2015, according to the latest data from the International Atomic Energy Agency, which also reported that 10 new reactors went online in the same span. The IAEA data, last updated on Monday, lists seven permanent shutdowns: five Japanese reactors, one German reactor, and one Welsh reactor. The […]

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission has granted exemptions allowing Entergy to forgo certain record-retention requirements at the Vermont Yankee Nuclear Power Station until termination of the facility’s operating license. The exemption issuance, which was announced on Thursday, specifically addresses the need to maintain records for systems, structures, and components (SSCs) associated with nuclear power generation and […]