Commercial Decommissioning

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission has extended the public comment period for its decommissioning rulemaking from Jan. 4 to March 18, allowing the agency to collect more feedback as it attempts to improve nuclear reactor decommissioning regulations. The extension follows a number of requests for an extension, including one from lawmakers in Vermont and Massachusetts. In […]

The utility Vattenfall Europe Nuclear Energy has selected AREVA NP to decontaminate the primary loop of the Krümmel nuclear power plant near Hamburg, Germany. Starting in the first half of 2016, decontamination is expected to reduce radiation levels in the reactor pressure vessel, auxiliary systems, and piping, according to an AREVA press release. In implementing […]

Vermont’s Nuclear Decommissioning Citizens Advisory Panel is seeking public comment for a draft advisory opinion on groundwater monitoring at the Vermont Yankee Nuclear Power Plant. The panel believes plant operator Entergy should continue to fund the Vermont Department of Health in conducting independent environmental surveillance of the plant until the company’s Nuclear Regulatory Commission licenses […]

Karl Herchenroeder RW Monitor 12/18/2015 Entergy announced Wednesday that it plans to transfer its spent nuclear fuel at the shuttered Vermont Yankee nuclear power plant from wet to dry storage starting in 2017, two years earlier than expected. The $145 million project, under which nearly 3,000 spent fuel assemblies would be transferred into 45 dry […]

Entergy announced Wednesday that it plans to transfer spent nuclear fuel at the shuttered Vermont Yankee nuclear power plant from wet to dry storage starting in 2017, two years earlier than expected. The $145 million project, under which nearly 3,000 spent fuel assemblies would be transferred into 45 dry casks by the end of 2020, […]

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission has recommended denial of Vermont officials’ request for a comprehensive review of Entergy’s Vermont Yankee nuclear power plant decommissioning trust fund. In November, the Vermont Attorney General’s Office joined former plant owner Vermont Yankee Nuclear Power Corp. and the Vermont Public Service Department in filing the petition for review, which questioned […]

Karl Herchenroeder RW Monitor 12/11/2015 The Nuclear Regulatory Commission on Thursday granted Entergy’s request to alter the emergency preparedness plan at its Vermont Yankee nuclear power plant, meaning the shuttered facility will adhere to reduced safety requirements starting on April 15, 2016. The exemption reduces the requirement to only on-site emergency preparedness. State and local […]

Staff report RW Monitor 12/4/2015 Southern California Edison (SCE) said this week it expects three bids in January from contractors for the San Onofre Nuclear Generating Station’s estimated $4.4 billion decommissioning general contract. SCE spokeswoman Maureen Brown said the company anticipates bids from the following groups: Bechtel and Westinghouse; Team Holtec, a newly established, wholly […]

Karl Herchenroeder RW Monitor 12/4/2015 On the heels of New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s announcement that the state will develop a new clean energy standard, energy company Exelon said Wednesday it is willing to sell fuel to the James A. FitzPatrick Nuclear Power Plant at a cost should it mean the plant remains open in […]

On the heels of New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s announcement that the state will develop a new clean energy standard, energy company Exelon said Wednesday it is willing to sell fuel to the James A. FitzPatrick Nuclear Power Plant at a cost should it mean the plant remains open in the interim.   In November, […]

Southern California Edison (SCE) said this week it expects three bids in January from contractors for the San Onofre Nuclear Generating Station’s estimated $4.4 billion decommissioning general contract.   SCE spokeswoman Maureen Brown said the company anticipates bids from the following companies: Bechtel and Westinghouse; Team Holtec, a newly established, wholly owned subsidiary of Holtec […]

Vermont’s Nuclear Decommissioning Citizens Advisory Panel has scheduled a meeting for 6 p.m. Dec. 10 in Brattleboro, where the panel will discuss the Nuclear Regulatory Commission’s proposed rulemaking on reactor decommissioning and take action on an advisory opinion concerning the certificate for public good for a second dry-cask storage pad at the Vermont Yankee nuclear […]

On Monday Holtec International announced the formation of a reactor decommissioning team, consisting of 16 North American nuclear contractors.   Team Holtec, LLC, established as a wholly owned subsidiary of Holtec International, will encompass: Atkins with Faithful and Gould, Beckman & Associates, Inc., Black & Veatch, CN Associates, DP Engineering Ltd. Co., High Bridge Associates, […]

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission has scheduled a Dec. 9 public hearing to discuss potential changes to the regulatory process for decommissioning nuclear power plants.   The NRC’s proposed rulemaking, scheduled for completion in 2019, is intended to streamline and improve the decommissioning process while reducing the need for exemptions from existing regulations. NRC staff is […]

Karl Herchenroeder and Chris Schneidmiller RW Monitor 11/20/2015 Despite reports that Entergy and New York state officials have been conducting last-minute talks to avoid closure of the James A. FitzPatrick Nuclear Power Plant, the energy company this week gave the Nuclear Regulatory Commission formal notice that the 40-year-old facility will shut down permanently. In a […]

Chris Schneidmiller RW Monitor 11/20/2015 The Nuclear Regulatory Commission on Thursday announced plans to update its regulations for nuclear reactors undergoing decommissioning. In a Federal Register notice, the commission said it was seeking input from stakeholders on a draft regulatory basis for possible changes to NRC regulations on nuclear reactor decommissioning. “The new rule would […]

Despite reports that Entergy and New York officials have been negotiating to avoid closure of the FitzPatrick nuclear power plant, the energy company on Wednesday gave the Nuclear Regulatory Commission formal notice that the 40-year-old facility will close permanently.   In a notice issued Wednesday, Entergy Northern Fleet COO John Ventosa told the NRC the […]

Karl Herchenroeder RW Monitor 11/13/2015 As the Nuclear Regulatory Commission works toward a 2019 rulemaking that could alter the regulatory process for decommissioning nuclear power plants, a panel of industry and government representatives this week aired concerns about the uncertainty surrounding the existing process. The ANS Winter Meeting and Nuclear Technology Expo panel, “Decommissioning Regulatory […]

Chris Schneidmiller RW Monitor 11/6/2015 Entergy on Monday said it would close its James A. FitzPatrick Nuclear Power Plant in New York state in late 2016 or early 2017. The news came less than a month after the electricity provider announced the upcoming shutdown of its Pilgrim Nuclear Generating Station in Massachusetts. The company in […]

Chris Schneidmiller RW Monitor 11/6/2015 Nuclear services provider EnergySolutions announced on Tuesday that it had signed a deal to decommission a shuttered nuclear reactor in Wisconsin. The new agreement calls for wholesale electricity provider Dairyland Power Cooperative to transfer its possession-only license for the La Crosse Boiling Water Reactor facility (LACBWR) to an EnergySolutions subsidiary, […]

Karl Herchenroeder RW Monitor 11/6/2015 The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission last week completed its quarterly inspection at Entergy’s shuttered Vermont Yankee Nuclear Power Plant without identifying any “findings of safety significance.” Entergy shut the plant down at the end of 2014 after 42 years in operation and is now preparing the facility for SAFSTOR. NRC […]

Chris Schneidmiller RW Monitor 11/6/2015 A California watchdog group this week requested that the state Superior Court block a permit that would allow for expanding a nuclear waste storage complex at the shuttered San Onofre Nuclear Generating Station (SONGS) site in San Diego County. The California Coastal Commission in October signed off on a two-decade […]

A California watchdog group this week requested that the state Superior Court block a permit that would allow for expanding a nuclear waste storage complex at the shuttered San Onofre Nuclear Generating Station (SONGS) in San Diego Country. The California Coastal Commission in October signed off on a two-decade permit for the expanded waste site […]

Nuclear services provider EnergySolutions announced on Tuesday that it had signed a deal to decommission a shuttered nuclear reactor in Wisconsin.   The new agreement calls for wholesale electricity provider Dairyland Power Cooperative to transfer its possession-only license for the La Crosse Boiling Water Reactor facility (LACBWR) to an EnergySolutions subsidiary, LaCrosseSolutions. The company will then […]

Delete this; enter story here.Entergy on Monday said it would close its James A. FitzPatrick Nuclear Power Plant in New York state in late 2016 or early 2017. The news came less than a month after Entergy announced the upcoming shutdown of its Pilgrim Nuclear Generating Station in Massachusetts. The company in a press release […]

Jeremy L. Dillon RW Monitor 10/23/2015 Members of the Massachusetts congressional delegation last week called on the Nuclear Regulatory Commission to deny any requests for exemptions to security and emergency preparedness requirements at the Pilgrim Station until after all spent fuel is removed from the facility’s pool. Entergy announced last week that it would shut […]

The Massachusetts congressional delegation last week called on the Nuclear Regulatory Commission to deny any requests for exemptions to security and emergency preparedness requirements at the Pilgrim Station as it transitions to a shutdown site by 2019 until after all spent fuel is removed from the pool. The delegation, led by Sen. Ed Markey (D-Mass.), […]

Jeremy L. Dillon RW Monitor 10/16/2015 In an “agonizing decision,” Entergy said this week that it will shut down the Pilgrim Nuclear Power Station in Massachusetts no later than June 2019 and as early as spring  2017. The announcement follows the downgrading of the Pilgrim plant by the Nuclear Regulatory Commission last month to Repetitive […]

Jeremy L. Dillon RW Monitor 10/16/2015 A House lawmaker from Vermont said in a letter to the Nuclear Regulatory Commission this week that he is “deeply concerned” over the decommissioning of Entergy’s Vermont Yankee Nuclear Power Plant. Rep. Peter Welch (D-Vt.) wrote the NRC to raise issue with the lack of state and local stakeholder […]

In an “agonizing decision,” Entergy said yesterday that it will shutdown the Pilgrim Nuclear Station in Massachusetts no later than June 2019 and as early as spring of 2017. The announcement follows the downgrading of the Pilgrim plant by Nuclear Regulatory Commission last month to Repetitive Degraded Cornerstone Column Four, the second to lowest performance […]