Decommissioning

EnergySolutions planned to purchase a Wisconsin nuclear power plant by the end of the month, the company told the Nuclear Regulatory Commission this week. EnergySolutions received “all required regulatory approvals” for its purchase of Kewaunee Power Station, according to a letter to NRC dated Tuesday. The company and plant owner Dominion Energy were expected to […]

Members of the public have about a week to submit their input on a proposed change to the Department of Energy’s civil nuclear credits program that would make a California nuclear power plant eligible for part of the federal bailout, the agency said last week. If adopted, the proposed amendment to DOE’s nuclear credits guidance […]

EnergySolutions planned to purchase a Wisconsin nuclear power plant by the end of the month, the company told the Nuclear Regulatory Commission Tuesday. EnergySolutions received “all required regulatory approvals” for its purchase of Kewaunee Power Station, according to a letter to NRC dated Tuesday. The company and plant owner Dominion Energy were expected to finalize […]

Members of the public have about a week to submit their input on a proposed change to the Department of Energy’s civil nuclear credits program that would make a California nuclear power plant eligible for part of the federal bailout, the agency said last week. If adopted, the proposed amendment to DOE’s nuclear credits guidance […]

Constellation Energy can use funds set aside for decommissioning a Pennsylvania nuclear power plant to cover site management expenses after the plant is dismantled, the Nuclear Regulatory Commission said this week. The NRC on June 8 allowed Constellation to dip into a decommissioning trust fund for Three Mile Island Nuclear Generating Station’s Unit 1 reactor […]

The state of Michigan is still holding out hope that it can secure a federal bailout to breathe some life back into Palisades Nuclear Generating Station despite its closure last month, a spokesperson said this week. “We are working with potential buyers, operators, and stakeholders to keep this vital energy source and the 600 good-paying […]

California’s senior senator announced in an op-ed this week that she had changed her mind about the closure of the state’s last operating nuclear power plant and now supports keeping the facility online as a source of carbon-free power. With climate change and worsening drought conditions threatening California’s electricity supply, “Pacific Gas and Electric Co. […]

The Department of Energy expects priority work at the Moab uranium tailings site in Utah to be largely done within four years, officials with DOE’s Office of Environmental Management told the Nuclear Regulatory Commission during a virtual briefing Wednesday. “We are getting close to closure,” at the Moab Uranium Mill Tailings project, said Russell McCallister, […]

The cleanup contractor at the Department of Energy’s Portsmouth Site in Ohio has brought down the 56-acre X-326 Process Building, the agency said Thursday. The demolition of X-326 down to the slab is a big milestone for the DOE Office of Environmental Management and was telegraphed last week by speakers for the agency and contractor […]

California’s senior senator announced in an op-ed Wednesday that she had changed her mind about the closure of the state’s last operating nuclear power plant and now supports keeping the facility online as a source of carbon-free power. With climate change and worsening drought conditions threatening California’s electricity supply, “Pacific Gas and Electric Co. [PG&E] […]

Constellation Energy can use funds set aside for decommissioning a Pennsylvania nuclear power plant to cover site management expenses after the plant is dismantled, the Nuclear Regulatory Commission said Wednesday. The NRC on June 8 allowed Constellation to dip into a decommissioning trust fund for Three Mile Island Nuclear Generating Station’s Unit 1 reactor (TMI-1) […]

A coalition of environmental groups in a letter last week urged the governor of Michigan to walk back her plans to secure a federal bailout for a recently-closed nuclear power plant in the Great Lakes State. “We urge you in the strongest terms to cease and desist from your efforts to bail out the Palisades […]

SUMMERLIN, NEV. — The final version of the Nuclear Regulatory Commission’s updated rule for decommissioning nuclear power plants should be ready in a little under two years, the agency said this week. NRC staff plan to send the updated decommissioning rule to the commissioners for approval in October 2023, teeing up final publication in the […]

In a hearing this week, Sen. Edward Markey (D-Mass.) said two would-be commissioners should stake out clearer positions on the Nuclear Regulatory Commission’s proposed decommissioning rule for nuclear power plants. Markey spoke at the tail end of a nomination hearing Wednesday in the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee for Annie Caputo and Bradley Crowell, […]

A New England conservation group last week added its voice to the growing chorus of opposition to Holtec International’s strategy for dealing with irradiated wastewater from a shuttered Massachusetts nuclear power plant. The Boston-based Conservation Law Foundation (CLF) urged Holtec “to abandon all plans” to release water from Pilgrim Nuclear Power Station into the nearby […]

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission is considering allowing the company that owns Three Mile Island Nuclear Generating Station’s Unit 1 reactor to dip into plant funds set aside for decommissioning to cover costs incurred after the plant has been fully dismantled, the agency said Monday. In a finding of no significant impact (FONSI) notice published on […]

SUMMERLIN, NEV.  — A protracted challenge to its recent purchase of a Wisconsin nuclear power plant hasn’t altered EnergySolutions’ strategy for future transactions, a company executive said here this week. EnergySolutions COO Jeff Richardson told RadWaste Monitor Monday that the company was “happy with the way we approached” its purchase of Kewaunee Power Station from […]

SUMMERLIN, NEV. — There are no plans to keep Diablo Canyon Power Plant operating beyond 2024 or 2025, even as the governor of California presses the federal government to open up its multi-billion dollar nuclear plant bailout program to the plant, a Pacific Gas & Electric executive said here this week. “The bottom line is, […]

In a hearing Wednesday, Sen. Edward Markey (D-Mass.) said two would-be commissioners should stake out clearer positions on the Nuclear Regulatory Commission’s proposed decommissioning rule for nuclear power plants. Markey spoke at the tail end of a nomination hearing in the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee for Annie Caputo and Bradley Crowell, whom President […]

SUMMERLIN, NEV. — There are no plans to keep Diablo Canyon Power Plant operating beyond 2024 or 2025, even as the governor of California presses the federal government to open up its multi-billion dollar nuclear plant bailout program to the plant, a Pacific Gas & Electric executive said here Tuesday. “The bottom line is, there’s […]

SUMMERLIN, NEV.  — A protracted challenge to its recent purchase of a Wisconsin nuclear power plant hasn’t altered EnergySolutions’ strategy for future transactions, a company executive said here Monday. EnergySolutions COO Jeff Richardson told Exchange Monitor Monday that the company was “happy with the way we approached” its purchase of Kewaunee Power Station from Dominion […]

SUMMERLIN, NEV. — The final version of the Nuclear Regulatory Commission’s updated rule for decommissioning nuclear power plants should be ready in a little under two years, the agency said this week. NRC staff plan to send the updated decommissioning rule to the commissioners for approval in October 2023, teeing up final publication in the […]

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission is considering allowing the company that owns Three Mile Island Nuclear Generating Station’s Unit 1 reactor to dip into plant funds set aside for decommissioning to cover costs incurred after the plant has been fully dismantled, the agency said Monday. In a finding of no significant impact (FONSI) notice published on […]

A New England conservation group last week added its voice to the growing chorus of opposition to Holtec International’s strategy for dealing with irradiated wastewater from a shuttered Massachusetts nuclear power plant. The Boston-based Conservation Law Foundation (CLF) urged Holtec “to abandon all plans” to release water from Pilgrim Nuclear Power Station into the nearby […]

Note from Benjamin S. Weiss, Exchange Monitor’s civilian nuclear power reporter. Good morning from sunny Summerlin, Nevada, just outside Las Vegas, where the Exchange Monitor’s annual Decommissioning Strategy Forum will begin at 1:00 p.m. Pacific, 3:00 p.m. Eastern time.  Look for a daily dispatch of the two-day event’s proceedings, including industry and government speakers discussing […]

The Department of Energy is considering the California governor’s request to alter the agency’s multibillion-dollar nuclear power bailout to allow a plant in the Golden State to apply for a payout, a spokesperson said this week. DOE is “currently reviewing” Gov. Gavin Newsom’s (D) May 23 letter to the agency asking it to loosen restrictions […]

The Department of Energy’s cleanup contractor at the Portsmouth Site has nearly completed structural demolition of the X-326 Process Building, an agency official at the Ohio site said Thursday. The major demolition is 91% complete “as of today,” Jeremy Davis, acting site lead at the Piketon, Ohio uranium enrichment cleanup site since January, told the […]

Assistant Secretary of Energy for Nuclear Energy Kathryn Huff is optimistic about her opportunity to contribute to the federal government’s 30-year quest to solve the nuclear waste storage problem.  “It’s really exciting,” Huff, silhouetted against a virtual background depicting a hot nuclear reactor emblazoned with the Office of Nuclear Energy seal, told RadWaste Monitor during […]

The Department of Energy is considering the California governor’s request to alter the agency’s multibillion-dollar nuclear power bailout to allow a plant in the Golden State to apply for a payout, a spokesperson said Tuesday. DOE is “currently reviewing” Gov. Gavin Newsom’s (D) May 23 letter to the agency asking it to loosen restrictions on […]

Holtec International’s plan to dispose of a Massachusetts nuclear power plant’s irradiated wastewater meets regulatory requirements, the Nuclear Regulatory Commission told the head of a local town council in a recent letter. Holtec’s license with NRC allowing it to decommission Pilgrim Nuclear Power Station requires the company “to ensure that the releases of gaseous and […]