Archive

Decommissioning

Project reporting on the decontamination and decommissioning of legacy nuclear facilities across the DOE-EM complex, from building teardowns to soil and groundwater remediation.

  • After DOE bailout plan collapses, Holtec back to decommissioning Palisades plant

    After the Department of Energy last week refused to fund a proposal to restart a recently-shuttered nuclear power plant in Michigan, the company in charge of the facility said it planned to move ahead with decommissioning, according to a spokesperson. A Holtec International spokesperson confirmed to RadWaste Monitor Nov. 18 that DOE had rejected the […]

  • Whitmer calls Palisades bailout miss a “temporary setback,” lauds restart efforts

    The governor of Michigan this week applauded the state’s efforts in its ill-fated attempt to bring a recently-shuttered nuclear power plant back online with the help of a federal bailout. Gov. Gretchen Whitmer (D) “brought together a coalition to develop a plan that would have reopened a non-operational nuclear plant for the first time in […]

  • Whitmer calls Palisades bailout miss a “temporary setback,” lauds restart efforts

    The governor of Michigan on Monday applauded the state’s efforts in its ill-fated attempt to bring a recently-shuttered nuclear power plant back online with the help of a federal bailout. Gov. Gretchen Whitmer (D) “brought together a coalition to develop a plan that would have reopened a non-operational nuclear plant for the first time in […]

  • DOE announces billion-dollar bailout for Diablo Canyon plant

    California’s last operating nuclear power plant got yet another cash injection Monday morning as the Department of Energy announced it could award more than a billion dollars to the facility to keep it online past its scheduled shutdown date. If finalized, Diablo Canyon Power Plant should receive around $1.1 billion in aid from DOE as […]

  • NorthStar wraps up GTCC storage at Vermont Yankee

    The company in charge of decommissioning a nuclear power plant in Vermont has finished packaging the last of the site’s low-level waste, a spokesperson said this week. NorthStar, which is currently dismantling Vermont Yankee Nuclear Power Station, “has reached another milestone” in the decommissioning process, as the site’s Greater-Than-Class-C waste “has been loaded into a […]

  • Sponsor of Mass nuclear decom commission looking for ‘path forward’ following gov veto

    A Massachusetts state senator who attempted to use a recently-passed economic development bill to block proposed wastewater discharges from a nuclear power plant under decommissioning said this week that she could try to override the governor’s veto of her provision. State Sen. Susan Moran (D) told RadWaste Monitor in a statement Wednesday that she was […]

  • NorthStar wraps up GTCC storage at Vermont Yankee

    The company in charge of decommissioning a nuclear power plant in Vermont has finished packaging the last of the site’s low-level waste, a spokesperson said Tuesday. NorthStar, which is currently dismantling Vermont Yankee Nuclear Power Station, “has reached another milestone” in the decommissioning process, as the site’s Greater-Than-Class-C waste “has been loaded into a dry […]

  • Mass gov cans Pilgrim wastewater commission

    The governor of Massachusetts last week struck down a provision in a recently-passed economic development bill aimed at blocking proposed wastewater discharge from a nuclear power plant under decommissioning, saying that it would step on the federal government’s toes. Although Gov. Charlie Baker (D) on Thursday signed the state’s sweeping economic development package, he vetoed […]

  • Provision in Mass. economic development bill could block Pilgrim wastewater discharge until ‘25

    The governor of Massachusetts this week signed into law a proposal that could throw a wrench in a decommissioning company’s plans to discharge irradiated wastewater from a nuclear power plant it is currently dismantling in the Bay State. A sweeping economic development package greenlit by Boston lawmakers last week and signed Thursday by Gov. Charlie […]

  • Provision in Mass. economic development bill could block Pilgrim wastewater discharge until ‘25

    The Massachusetts state legislature last week approved a proposal that could throw a wrench in a decommissioning company’s plans to discharge irradiated wastewater from a nuclear power plant it is currently dismantling in the Bay State. If state Sen. Susan Moran’s (D) proposal, part of a sweeping economic development package greenlit by Boston lawmakers Thursday, […]

  • Mass. lawmakers slam Holtec for ‘misinterpretation’ of Pilgrim nuke plant wastewater permit

    Members of Massachusetts’ congressional delegation this week pushed Holtec International to respond to charges that a federal permit bars the company from discharging irradiated wastewater from a nuclear power plant under decommissioning in the commonwealth. In a Wednesday press release, Sens. Ed Markey (D-Mass.) and Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.), alongside Rep. Bill Keating (D-Mass.), said they […]

  • PG&E applies for Diablo Canyon life extension

    The utility in charge of California’s last operating nuclear power plant has asked the Nuclear Regulatory Commission to pick up where it left off on a decade-old request to extend the facility’s license, according to agency filings. If approved, Pacific Gas & Electric’s (PG&E) Monday request would see NRC revisit the utility’s 2009 license extension […]

  • Entergy ‘optimistic’ about benefits of Inflation Reduction Act, nuclear tax credits

    A senior official at Entergy Corp. said Wednesday that the energy company believes a sweeping federal legislation package passed over the summer that includes tax incentives for nuclear power plants could bring value to its stakeholders. Entergy is “optimistic” about the potential benefits of the Inflation Reduction Act signed into law in August by President […]

  • PG&E applies for Diablo Canyon life extension

    The utility in charge of California’s last operating nuclear power plant has asked the Nuclear Regulatory Commission to pick up where it left off on a decade-old request to extend the facility’s license, according to agency filings. If approved, Pacific Gas & Electric’s (PG&E) Monday request would see NRC revisit the utility’s 2009 license extension […]

  • After shutdown near-miss, Constellation seeking 20-year extension for Dresden plant

    An Illinois nuclear power plant that just last year had been slated for closure could be getting a new lease on life, the facility’s operator said Monday. Constellation Energy, which owns Dresden Nuclear Generating Station, has applied with the Nuclear Regulatory Commission for a 20-year license extension for the Morris, Ill., plant, the company said […]

  • Cocoon completed at 7th Hanford reactor

    Work crews have completed construction of a protective cocoon around another old plutonium production reactor at the Hanford Site in Washington state, the Department of Energy said last week. The steel structure around the K East Reactor is more than 120 feet tall and 150 feet wide, the DOE Office of Environmental Management said in […]

  • NRC won’t enforce radioactive materials violation at Diablo Canyon, agency says

    The Nuclear Regulatory Commission will not take disciplinary action against the operator of a California nuclear power plant despite finding that it ran afoul of federal regulations governing the storage of radioactive materials, the agency said in a letter this week. Although NRC’s Sep. 30 inspection of Diablo Canyon Power plant revealed that operator Pacific […]

  • Holtec expects update on DOE bailout for Palisades by end of 2022

    Holtec International is still waiting on more information regarding a federal bailout crucial to efforts to restart a recently-shuttered nuclear power plant in Michigan, a spokesperson said this week. Holtec, which in September applied for financial assistance from the Department of Energy as part of its civil nuclear credits program, expects to hear from DOE […]

  • Granholm stumps for existing nuclear fleet, fuel supply chain at IAEA conference

    WASHINGTON — The Secretary of Energy told attendees at an international nuclear power conference this week that the U.S. aims to keep nuclear at the center of its energy mixture in the long term. “[W]e are committed to maintaining and modernizing our existing fleet, and we are committed to developing a secure and diverse supply […]

  • NRC asks Holtec to clear up ‘conflict’ in Indian Point trust fund agreement

    The Nuclear Regulatory Commission wants Holtec International to explain why the company has proposed giving itself the power to manage investments from a shuttered New York nuclear plant’s decommissioning trust fund — something the agency said is illegal. In a request for additional information document sent to Holtec Friday, NRC took issue with a provision […]

  • Michigan Gov Whitmer signs bill standing up nuclear power study

    The governor of Michigan last week signed a bill aimed at evaluating whether the Great Lake State could expand nuclear power generation in the wake of a recent plant closure, according to a press release. The measure, which Gov. Gretchen Whitmer signed into law Oct. 14, directs Michigan’s public service commission to, among other things, […]

  • Despite Palisades closure, average summer nuclear outages lower than 2021, EIA says

    Although a Michigan nuclear power plant shut down earlier than expected, capacity losses from nuclear generation outages were lower this summer than they were the year prior, the government’s independent energy auditor said in a report last week. Palisades Nuclear Generating Station, which shut down May 20, removed around 770 gigawatts (GW) of electricity from […]

  • Palisades plant to have new congressional rep after midterms

    A recently-shuttered Michigan nuclear power plant that the state hopes to get running again will have new representation in Congress after November’s midterm elections. Until this year, the Covert, Mich., Palisades Nuclear Generating Station was located within the state’s sixth congressional district, represented by Rep. Fred Upton (R-Mich.). Following a redistricting effort, the plant is […]

  • Palisades plant to have new congressional rep after midterms

    A recently-shuttered Michigan nuclear power plant that the state hopes to get running again will have new representation in Congress after November’s midterm elections. Until this year, the Covert, Mich., Palisades Nuclear Generating Station was located within the state’s sixth congressional district, represented by Rep. Fred Upton (R-Mich.). Following a redistricting effort, the plant is […]

  • Despite Palisades closure, average summer nuclear outages lower than 2021, EIA says

    Although a Michigan nuclear power plant shut down earlier than expected, capacity losses from nuclear generation outages were lower this summer than they were the year prior, the government’s independent energy auditor said in a report last week. Palisades Nuclear Generating Station, which shut down May 20, removed around 770 gigawatts (GW) of electricity from […]

  • Cali state agency approves SONGS spent fuel storage extension

    One of two on-site facilities storing spent fuel from a California nuclear power plant can keep operating for another decade or so, the Golden State’s coastal land regulator said last week. The 12-member California Coastal Commission voted 9-0 Thursday to approve a 13 year extension on state permits for the storage pad, located at San […]

  • Most California voters support Diablo Canyon life extension, UC Berkeley poll finds

    The recent effort to keep California’s last operating nuclear power plant online enjoys bipartisan support among voters in the Golden State, according to a university poll published last week. Among registered voters in California, 56% said that they support keeping Diablo Canyon Power Plant online five years past its scheduled 2025 shutdown date, according to […]

  • Candidates for SONGS congressional district differ on Yucca Mountain

    Ahead of the midterm elections, plans for disposing of spent nuclear fuel currently stranded at a California nuclear power plant are among the issues at play in one battle to represent the Golden State in Congress. The issue of nuclear waste disposal is especially personal to the candidates for California’s 49th congressional district — incumbent […]

  • Mass state senator advocating for Pilgrim wastewater study

    A Massachusetts state legislator is pushing to get a proposed study on the possible effects of discharging a shuttered nuclear power plant’s irradiated wastewater into an economic development bill under consideration in Boston, a spokesperson said recently. State Sen. Susan Moran (D), who represents Pilgrim Nuclear Generating Station’s host community in Boston, has proposed establishing […]

  • BWXT leading own team for Portsmouth decommissioning contract

    The two partners in Fluor-BWXT Portsmouth, the incumbent cleanup team at the Department of Energy Portsmouth Site in Ohio, are rivals in pursuit of the new Decontamination & Decommissioning Contract, industry sources said this week. BWX Technologies is leading a team along with Jacobs and APTIM that is vying for the follow-on Portsmouth decommissioning contract, […]