Decommissioning

The growing market for decommissioning of commercial nuclear reactors could help offset revenue losses in other business lines at engineering and infrastructure giant AECOM, such as construction of gas-fired power plants, the company’s top executive said Tuesday. Like rival Fluor, AECOM is moving out of the market to build fixed-price natural gas power plants. When […]

The members of the Nuclear Regulatory Commission on Monday received a proposed package of rules for commercial nuclear power reactors making the transition from operations to decommissioning. “The proposed rule package was signed out by the Office of Executive Director and sent to the Office of the Secretary yesterday, so … the Commission has it,” […]

Centrus Energy is asking the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) to amend its nuclear material license at the Energy Department’s Portsmouth Site in Ohio. The application was filed as the company is closing out decommissioning of its American Centrifuge uranium enrichment demonstration project. In a May 1 Federal Register notice, the NRC is seeking comments on […]

Costs related to the San Onofre Nuclear Generating Station (SONGS) were seemingly a nonfactor in the first-quarter 2018 balance sheet for its majority owner. In a Tuesday conference call on Edison International’s latest earnings, the retired nuclear power plant barely came up as analysts and executives at the California-based utility discussed wildfire recovery costs and […]

SAVANNAH, Ga. — The Nuclear Regulatory Commission should next week receive agency staff’s proposed rule package for nuclear power reactors transitioning from operations to decommissioning, a senior official said Wednesday. The proposal is going through its final concurrence process by NRC offices, and as of this week was at the Office of the Executive Director […]

Centrus Energy is asking the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) to amend a nuclear material license at the Energy Department’s Portsmouth Site in Ohio. The application was filed as the company is closing out decommissioning of its American Centrifuge uranium enrichment demonstration project. The nuclear material license was originally issued in February 2004 when Centrus (then […]

SAVANNAH, Ga. — The Nuclear Regulatory Commission should next week receive agency staff’s proposed package of rules for nuclear power reactors transitioning from operations to decommissioning, a senior official said Wednesday. The proposal is going through its final concurrence process and should be submitted to the commissioners on May 7, according to Meena Khanna, chief […]

The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission has approved Pacific Gas & Electric’s request to withdraw its application to renew the licenses for the two reactors at the Diablo Canyon nuclear power plant in California. That takes the facility another step toward its planned closure in less than a decade. Pacific Gas & Electric (PG&E) in 2009 […]

By John Stang FirstEnergy Solutions formally confirmed to the Nuclear Regulatory Commission on Wednesday that it plans to permanently shut down three nuclear power plants unless it gets government help. The three-paragraph message to the agency simply certifies FirstEnergy’s March 28 announcement that it would end power production at the Davis-Besse Nuclear Power Station in […]

Power company Entergy said Wednesday its earnings rose -m the first quarter of 2018 with assistance from the federal tax break and better weather. The numbers in the company’s nuclear power-intensive Wholesale Commodities segment also improved, though it remained a drag on the overall business. The New Orleans-based utility owner reported consolidated earnings of $133 […]

Power company Entergy said Wednesday earnings rose for the first quarter of 2018 with assistance from the federal tax break and better weather. The numbers in the company’s nuclear power-focused Wholesale Commodities segment also improved, though it remained a drag on the overall business. Entergy reported consolidated earnings of $133 million ($0.73 per share) on […]

Despite its lack of movement for nearly a year, there remains hope for legislation intended to give a strong push for building a nuclear waste repository at Yucca Mountain in Nevada, a senior official with the nuclear industry’s policy organization said this week. Rep. John Shimkus’ (R-Ill.) H.R. 3053, the Nuclear Waste Policy Amendments Act […]

FirstEnergy Corp. and its subsidiaries should be found in breach of their federal regulatory requirement to ensure they can fund decommissioning of three nuclear power plants scheduled for closure in coming years, a nongovernmental environmental organization said in a petition to the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission. Saying the facilities were no longer economically viable, FirstEnergy […]

URENCO USA’s uranium enrichment plant in New Mexico passed the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission’s latest performance review in all operational areas. The review covered safety, safeguards, radiological controls, facility support, and additional matters from Jan. 1, 2016, to Dec. 31, 2017, the agency said Wednesday in a press release. “The NRC staff review determined that […]

Declining profit margins, in some cases just 2 to 4 percent, are a major reason for the wave of mergers and acquisitions by companies that do business in the Department of Energy’s nuclear cleanup sector, a senior executive with one contractor said last week. These companies might also eye new opportunities in the commercial nuclear […]

FirstEnergy Corp. and its subsidiaries should be found in breach of their federal regulatory requirement to ensure they can fund decommissioning of three nuclear power plants scheduled for closure in coming years, a nongovernmental environmental organization said in a petition to the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission. FirstEnergy subsidiary FirstEnergy Solutions on March 28 announced it […]

Declining profit margins, in some cases just 2 to 4 percent, are a major reason for the wave of mergers and acquisitions by companies that do business in the Department of Energy’s nuclear cleanup sector, a senior executive with one contractor said Thursday. The reduced margins are due in part to regulatory responsibilities and “claw-back” […]

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers last week issued a sources sought notice for contractors potentially interested in the contract to decommission the long-defunct SM-1 nuclear power reactor at Fort Belvoir, Va. Ahead of issuing a request for proposals for the procurement, the Army Corps’ Baltimore District is asking  prospective bidders via a survey to […]

By John Stang FirstEnergy Solutions’ recent bankruptcy filing does not absolve it of legal obligations cemented in its nuclear-power plant licenses, according to the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission. “The NRC licenses remain in full effect, even beyond their stated expiration date, until terminated in writing by NRC,” Louise Lund, director of the NRC’s Division of Licensing Projects, wrote […]

By John Stang Two California activist organizations are feuding over their legal standings in a proposed settlement agreement that would trim charges to ratepayers for the premature closure of the San Onofre Nuclear Generating Station. The stakes include legal fees and possible input in future discussions on the agreement reached in late January between the […]

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers anticipates completing decommissioning of the reactor on the radioactively contaminated STURGIS barge by June, after which what remains of the former floating nuclear power plant will be transported for shipbreaking. “We’re getting really close. We can see the light at the end of the tunnel, and we can tell […]

By John Stang Holtec International has sought to allay concerns about a broken bolt in one of the canisters being used to move and store spent fuel at the San Onofre Nuclear Generating Station (SONGS) in California. “All of the safety criteria in the SONGS (interim dry storage facility) are fulfilled even if one postulates that […]

The U.S. Energy Department will provide the University of Arkansas with $10 million to complete the environmental remediation of the Southwest Experimental Fast Oxide Reactor (SEFOR). Two members of the state’s congressional delegation, Sen. John Boozman (R) and Rep. Steve Womack (R), announced the funding this week. The money is included in the fiscal 2018 […]

The U.S. Energy Department has officially supported keeping millions of documents related to licensing of its planned nuclear waste repository at Yucca Mountain, Nev., in their current home in the Nuclear Regulatory Commission’s electronic records database. Other parties, though, said this month that more consideration is necessary before a final decision is made. The Licensing […]

Canadian Nuclear Laboratories (CNL) needs more time to complete the environmental impact statement for decommissioning of its long-retired Whiteshell Reactor No. 1. The EIS was anticipated this month, followed by a public hearing in October, according to a news release Tuesday from the Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission. Both are being pushed back while Canadian Nuclear […]

The United Kingdom’s Nuclear Decommissioning Authority has filled several positions in its early efforts to address a high-profile, expensive breakdown in contracting for decommissioning of the nation’s retired Magnox reactors, the agency’s chief executive. The steps come as NDA waits on the findings of an official government inquiry into the matter, led by former National […]

As it prepares by June to complete decommissioning of the retired nuclear power reactor on the STURGIS barge, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers is already planning two follow-on projects at bases in Virginia and Alaska, officials said recently. The SM-1 power reactor operated from 1957 to 1973 at Fort Belvoir, Va., primarily to train […]

By John Stang Entergy does not expect the ongoing shutdown of the Pilgrim Nuclear Generating Station to affect its longer-term plans to close the plant next year, a spokesman said Wednesday. However, members of the Massachusetts congressional delegation want Pilgrim to dramatically improve its performance before then. The utility company declined to say this week […]

Nuclear services provider EnergySolutions supports allowing use of nuclear power plant decommissioning trust funds for certain operations even before the facility ceases operation, an executive said last week. “We are very supportive of using the decommissioning funds early for legitimate decommissioning activities at nuclear power plants,” Daniel Shrum, senior vice president for regulatory affairs at […]

By John Stang Teetering on the brink of bankruptcy, FirstEnergy Solutions announced Wednesday it would close its four nuclear power reactors in Ohio and Pennsylvania in coming years if it does not get rapid assistance from the federal and state governments. The four reactors are the 908-megawatt Davis-Besse Nuclear Power Station at Oak Harbor, Ohio; the […]