Decommissioning

By John Stang The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission is taking public comments through Nov. 19 on the proposed license transfer for the newly closed Oyster Creek Nuclear Generating Station in New Jersey. Parties also have until Nov. 8 to request to intervene and a public hearing on the proposed sale of the plant, according to an NRC […]

The Southwest Experimental Fast-Oxide Reactor (SEFOR) in Arkansas moved closer to final remediation this week when contractor EnergySolutions removed the reactor from the containment building and placed it into a shipping container. Moving the roughly 90,000-pound reactor with a large crane took less than 30 minutes Monday, EnergySolutions spokesman Mark Walker said by telephone Wednesday. […]

The contractor in charge of decommissioning and decontamination of the Energy Department’s Portsmouth Site in Piketon, Ohio earned $24.3 million out of a potential fee of almost $33 million for the 16-month period ended Sept. 30, 2017. The Energy Department’s recent release of the scorecard showing Fluor-BWXT Portsmouth earned 74 percent of its potential fee, […]

The Board of Directors for the Omaha, Neb., Public Power District (OPPD) voted Thursday to expedite decommissioning of the shuttered Fort Calhoun Station nuclear power plant. The new approach is expected to shave nearly four decades from the timeline for decommissioning, starting less than two years from now and wrapping up in 2028. It should […]

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission on this week approved the license transfer application for the Vermont Yankee nuclear power plant, putting the retired facility one step closer to being sold. The next and last major step in the regulatory process is approval from the Vermont Public Utility Commission, which site owner Entergy and prospective buyer NorthStar […]

The prospective owner of the retired Vermont Yankee nuclear power plant is requesting an exemption to federal rules so it can use $20 million from the facility’s decommissioning trust fund for “irradiated fuel management activities.” Staff at the Nuclear Regulatory Commission on Wednesday issued a finding of no significant impact (FONSI) for any potential environmental […]

The Board of Directors for the Omaha, Neb., Public Power District (OPPD) is expected to vote Thursday on whether to change the decommissioning approach for the Fort Calhoun Station nuclear power plant. The board’s Nuclear Oversight Committee met Tuesday to discuss a resolution on decommissioning planning. However, the document was being updated based on feedback […]

The Energy Department has retained Centrus Energy to prepare the K-1600 facility at the Oak Ridge Reservation in Tennessee for demolition. The Rockville, Md.-based nuclear fuel supplier has leased the uranium enrichment plant since 2002. Centrus announced Tuesday it has received a $15 million work authorization for decontamination and decommissioning (D&D) of the plant, one […]

Two members of Massachusetts’ congressional delegation on Monday demanded assurance that the planned sale and decommissioning of the Pilgrim Nuclear Power Station will not endanger the public’s safety or security. Sen. Ed Markey (D) and Rep. Bill Keating (D) made their case in letters to power company Entergy and energy technology firm Holtec International, respectively […]

Expediting decommissioning of the newly retired Oyster Creek Nuclear Generating Station in New Jersey could shave hundreds of millions of dollars from the price tag for the project, according to prospective buyer Holtec International. The New Jersey energy technology company wants to buy the power plant, which ended operations on Sept. 17, and then assume […]

Jacobs Engineering said Tuesday it has secured two framework deals worth a total of $32 million to provide a range of services for the contractor handling decommissioning of the former Dounreay fast-reactor site in Scotland. The Dallas-based company said in a press release it was among six companies “eligible to tender” for both four-year agreements […]

The Energy Department has retained Centrus Energy to prepare the K-1600 facility at the Oak Ridge Reservation in Tennesseefor demolition. The Rockville, Md.-based nuclear fuel supplier has leased the uranium enrichment plant since 2002. Centrus announced Tuesday it has received a $15 million work authorization for decontamination and decommissioning (D&D) of the plant, one of […]

Two members of Massachusetts’ congressional delegation on Monday demanded assurance that the planned sale and decommissioning of the Pilgrim Nuclear Power Station will not endanger the safety or security of local stakeholders. Sen. Ed Markey (D) and Rep. Bill Keating (D) made their case in letters to power company Entergy and energy technology firm Holtec […]

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission said Friday it expects to need at least a couple extra weeks to issue its decision on the license transfer for the Vermont Yankee nuclear power plant. “[W]e have been saying we anticipated issuing a decision by the end of the third quarter,” NRC spokesman Neil Sheehan said by email. “However, […]

The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission is beginning the formal review of the license transfer application for the Oyster Creek Nuclear Generating Station in New Jersey from owner Exelon to planned owner Holtec International. The regulator informed Exelon by email Thursday that it had completed the acceptance review of the Aug. 31 application. The document was […]

Fluor-BWXT Portsmouth has picked up its second and last option period as cleanup contractor at the Department of Energy’s Portsmouth Site in Ohio. The Energy Department announced the contract extension, valued at about $850 million, on Thursday afternoon, three days before the current 30-month extension was set to expire. The company began work on its […]

By John Stang Staffers for two U.S. lawmakers and others on Tuesday raised concerns about whether there is enough money available for decommissioning the Pilgrim Nuclear Power Station in Massachusetts. The issue came up during a Nuclear Regulatory Commission meeting ahead of the anticipated application next month to transfer the plant’s operational license from owner […]

The final voyage of the formerly nuclear reactor-equipped barge STURGIS ended Thursday in Brownsville, Texas, where the vessel will be dismantled after being decommissioned at the Port of Galveston. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers announced on Sept. 14 that it had completed the nearly $66.5 million decommissioning of the world’s first floating atomic energy facility […]

Southern California Edison is expected in November to apply for a California state coastal development permit necessary to begin major decommissioning of the San Onofre Nuclear Generating Station. The timeline for the California Coastal Commission’s review and a decision on the application is unclear, dependent in part on a separate but related proceeding at the […]

After a delay of more than a year, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) on Tuesday gave Jacobs Field Services North America the green light to begin cleanup at the Shallow Land Disposal Area near Pittsburgh. The Army Corps awarded the $350 million radiological remediation contract to the Houston-based Jacobs subsidiary in April 2017, […]

All used nuclear fuel has been removed from the newly retired reactor at the Oyster Creek Nuclear Generating Station in New Jersey, according to a Sept. 25 letter from plant owner Exelon to the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission. The short message, submitted by Exelon Generation Vice President for Licensing and Decommissioning Michael Gallagher, also provides […]

There was no word Tuesday from either the Energy Department or Fluor-BWXT Portsmouth on any sort of extension for the contractor’s current deal for cleanup of the Portsmouth Site in Ohio. The first of two potential 30-month option periods for the contract is set to expire Sept. 30. The company started work on its potential […]

Southern California Edison is expected in November to apply for a California state coastal development permit necessary to begin major decommissioning of the San Onofre Nuclear Generating Station. The timeline for the California Coastal Commission’s review and decision on the application is unclear, dependent in part on a separate but related proceeding at the State […]

The final voyage of the formerly nuclear reactor-equipped barge STURGIS began Tuesday, as it was towed out of the Port of Galveston, Texas, on its way to shipbreaking in Brownsville. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers announced on Sept. 14 that it had completed decommissioning the world’s first floating atomic energy facility — a former […]

The trade group for the U.S. nuclear industry last week inked a formal cooperation agreement with the United Nations’ nuclear agency. The “practical arrangement” between the Nuclear Energy Institute and the International Atomic Energy Agency provides for bilateral sharing of information and best practices on building, operating, and decommissioning nuclear power plants, according to an […]

Following the completion of decommissioning, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers’ STURGIS barge is scheduled next week to be towed for shipbreaking. All parts of the STURGIS’ retired MH-1A nuclear reactor and other radioactive waste on the vessel have been removed at the Port of Galveston, Texas, and shipped to Waste Control Specialists’ disposal facility […]

Decommissioning of the nearly retired Pilgrim Nuclear Power Station in Massachusetts could be largely complete in less than a decade if it can be sold, according to its owner and prospective buyer. Otherwise, the process could stretch on for decades, power company Entergy and energy technology firm Holtec International will tell the Nuclear Regulatory Commission […]

Duke Energy has terminated the low-level emergency notice at its Brunswick nuclear power plant in North Carolina, and is reportedly returning toward normal operations. The utility took the facility, which stands about 4 miles inland from the Atlantic Coast, offline as Hurricane Florence approached the state on Sept. 14. Brunswick sustained no flooding or storm […]

By John Stang Exelon at noon Monday officially retired its Oyster Creek Nuclear Generating Station in New Jersey ahead of what is anticipated to be an accelerated decommissioning. The boiling water reactor in Lacey Township became operational in December 1969, on the same day as the Nine Mile Point Nuclear Generating Station near Oswego, N.Y. […]

Exelon at noon Monday officially retired its Oyster Creek Nuclear Generating Station in New Jersey ahead of what is anticipated to be an accelerated decommissioning. The 650-megawatt boiling water reactor in Lacey Township became operational in December 1969, on the same day as the Nine Mile Point Nuclear Generating Station near Oswego, N.Y. Since Oyster […]