Decommissioning

The interested public now has until the end of the summer to provide their feedback on the Nuclear Regulatory Commission’s proposed rules change for decommissioning nuclear power plants, the agency said Tuesday.  August 30 is now the deadline for comments on NRC’s proposed decommissioning rulemaking, the agency said in presentation slides for an upcoming public […]

In what could be a reversal of fortune for Diablo Canyon Power Plant, the governor of California is weighing whether to bid on a federal bailout for the Golden State’s last operating nuclear power facility, he said last week. State Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) told the LA Times editorial board Friday that a bid on […]

A decommissioning company intervening in state-level proceedings necessary for EnergySolutions’ purchase of a Wisconsin nuclear power plant wants to drag out the process with last-minute contentions, EnergySolutions argued Monday. NorthStar’s April request to include Kewaunee Power Station’s annual decommissioning funding status report in the Wisconsin Public Service Commission’s (WPSC) review of the plant’s sale to […]

U.S. electricity generation from nuclear power plants fell behind output from renewable energy sources last year, the government’s independent energy auditor said this week. Renewable energy sources, which include wind, hydropower, solar, biomass, and geothermal power, generated around 800 million megawatt-hours (MWh) of electricity in 2021, the Energy Information Administration (EIA) said in a report […]

Holtec International late last week withdrew some sharp criticism it made against the company selected to provide spent-fuel management services at a California nuclear power plant, framing its comments as a heat-of-the-moment reaction. Comments directed at Orano USA in an April 6 letter “reflected an emotional response in the immediate wake of the disappointing news,” […]

The company in charge of a Michigan nuclear plant scheduled to close this summer doesn’t have any plans to keep the facility running despite the state government’s aims to save it, a spokesperson said this week. Entergy, which currently owns Palisades Nuclear Generating Station, “acknowledge[s] having recently been contacted by government officials about the facility […]

Without fuel to keep it going, it will be difficult to keep the Palisades Power Plant open this summer as Michigan governor’s appeals to the federal government for a bailout, plant operator Entergy’s CEO said Wednesday. “The plant will have to stop operating in May, because we’ll be out of fuel,” Entergy CEO Leo Denault […]

U.S. electricity generation from nuclear power plants fell behind output from renewable energy sources last year, the government’s independent energy auditor said Tuesday. Renewable energy sources, which include wind, hydropower, solar, biomass, and geothermal power, generated around 800 million megawatt-hours (MWh) of electricity in 2021, the Energy Information Administration (EIA) said in a report published […]

Holtec International late last week withdrew some sharp criticism it made against the company selected to provide spent-fuel management services at a California nuclear power plant, framing its comments as a heat-of-the-moment reaction. Comments directed at Orano USA in an April 6 letter “reflected an emotional response in the immediate wake of the disappointing news,” […]

Some 260 Palisades Nuclear Generating Station employees, accounting for more than 40% of the current workforce, will stay on the job even after a decommissioning company takes over, the plant’s owner said. These employees will remain on site “as part of the first phase of decommissioning,” a spokesperson for plant owner Entergy told RadWaste Monitor […]

The company selected to manage Diablo Canyon Power Station’s spent fuel inventory fired back this week at claims from a competitor that its cask system was unsafe and untested. Orano USA, whose subsidiary TN Americas on April 6 locked down the spent fuel contract with plant operator Pacific Gas & Electric (PG&E), was “surprised” at […]

The Senate Environment and Public Works Committee is hitting the road early next month and heading to Massachusetts where they’ll discuss nuclear plant decommissioning policies in the shadow of one such project, according to a press release from a subcommittee chair. The Environment and Public Works (EPW) Committee’s clean air, climate and nuclear safety subcommittee […]

A day after the Department of Energy made funding available for economically-troubled nuclear power plants, Michigan’s governor announced she would bid on aid to save the Palisades Power Plant in Covert Township. Michigan will provide a “compelling” application to receive funding for Palisades, Gov. Gretchen Whitmer (D) told Secretary of Energy — and former Michigan […]

The company selected to manage Diablo Canyon Power Station’s spent fuel inventory fired back Wednesday at claims from a competitor that its cask system was unsafe and untested. Orano USA, whose subsidiary TN Americas on April 6 locked down the spent fuel contract with plant operator Pacific Gas & Electric (PG&E), was “surprised” at what […]

Operators of financially struggling nuclear power plants now have around a month to bid for some of the cash available under the Department of Energy’s civil nuclear credits program, the agency announced Tuesday. Bids on the first round of DOE’s roughly $6 billion nuclear credits program, greenlit in November’s Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, are […]

Some 260 Palisades Nuclear Generating Station employees, accounting for more than 40% of the current workforce, will stay on the job even after a decommissioning company takes over, the plant’s owner said. These employees will remain on site “as part of the first phase of decommissioning,” a spokesperson for plant owner Entergy told Exchange Monitor […]

The Senate Environment and Public Works Committee is hitting the road early next month and heading to Massachusetts where they’ll discuss nuclear plant decommissioning policies in the shadow of one such project, according to a press release from a subcommittee chair. The Environment and Public Works (EPW) Committee’s clean air, climate and nuclear safety subcommittee […]

U.S. nuclear electricity generation will continue its downward trend as more power plants close down in the coming years, the federal government’s independent energy auditor said in a recent report. Generation losses from reactor retirements contributed to a net U.S. nuclear electricity output of 778 million megawatt-hours (MWh) in 2021, the Energy Information Administration (EIA) […]

Holtec International gave Pacific Gas & Electric a piece of its mind last week in a letter blasting the utility for choosing another company to handle spent fuel management operations at a California nuclear power plant. Pacific Gas & Electric’s (PG&E) April 6 decision to give the spent fuel job at Diablo Canyon Power Station […]

The state of Massachusetts should ensure that Holtec International is being up front about its plans to discharge irradiated wastewater from a nuclear power plant into nearby waters, the sponsor of a proposed bill to block such an action told Bay State legislators this week. Massachusetts has “a responsibility to insist and expect full transparency […]

Fewer than five days remain before the Department of Energy is expected to publish instructions for financially-troubled nuclear power plant operators looking to bid on a multi-billion-dollar federal assistance package. DOE’s Office of Nuclear Energy “anticipates opening a combined certification and sealed bid auction process” on its civil nuclear credits program April 18 by first […]

Fewer than five days remain before the Department of Energy is expected to publish instructions for financially-troubled nuclear power plant operators looking to bid on a multi-billion-dollar federal assistance package. DOE’s Office of Nuclear Energy “anticipates opening a combined certification and sealed bid auction process” on its civil nuclear credits program April 18 by first […]

The state of Massachusetts should ensure that Holtec International is being up front about its plans to discharge irradiated wastewater from a nuclear power plant into nearby waters, the sponsor of a proposed bill to block such an action told Bay State legislators Tuesday. Massachusetts has “a responsibility to insist and expect full transparency and […]

Holtec International has moved into storage some highly-radioactive reactor components at a Massachusetts nuclear power plant under decommissioning, the company announced recently. Holtec finished moving Pilgrim Nuclear Power Station’s Greater-Than-Class-C (GTCC) waste, which includes non-fuel waste products such as “highly activated metal components,” onto the site’s independent spent fuel storage installation in early March, the […]

In some of the first public details about decommissioning work at California’s last operating nuclear plant, Orano USA announced Wednesday that it had locked down a contract to transfer the site’s spent fuel into dry storage post-shutdown. Pacific Gas & Electric (PG&E), which owns and operates Diablo Canyon Power Plant, selected Orano USA subsidiary TN […]

SUN VALLEY, IDAHO — The almighty dollar is the only thing standing in the way of Holtec International’s plans to build an advanced reactor at the site of a former New Jersey nuclear plant, the company’s CEO said here Tuesday. “The government is the one that has to step up” to help fund Holtec’s plan […]

As a decommissioning company looking to purchase a Wisconsin nuclear power plant argues its case before a state regulator, the Nuclear Regulatory Commission has pinned its seal of approval on the proposed transaction, the agency said this week. NRC has approved the sale of Kewaunee Power Station and its spent fuel storage facility to EnergySolutions […]

The sale of a Michigan nuclear power plant could be final before Independence Day so an anti-nuclear group and the state attorney general have only about three months to get a public hearing on the transaction with the NRC — which has yet to say yay or nay, an agency spokesperson said this week. Hearing […]

When talking about Holtec International’s plans to dispose of wastewater from a Massachusetts nuclear power plant under decommissioning, make sure to use the right terminology, a company official told members of a community engagement panel this week. “The term dumping does not apply here,” Holtec senior compliance officer Dave Noyes said during a Monday meeting […]

The sale of a Michigan nuclear power plant could be final before Independence Day so an anti-nuclear group and the state attorney general have only about three months to get a public hearing on the transaction with the NRC — which has yet to say yay or nay, an agency spokesperson said Wednesday. Hearing requests […]