Decommissioning

Duke Energy on Thursday said it had selected a contractor to expedite decommissioning of its retired Crystal River nuclear power plant in Florida. The power company now anticipates decommissioning will wrap up by 2027, decades earlier than the prior end date of 2074. Pending state and federal regulatory approval, Accelerated Decommissioning Partners, a team of […]

Staff at the California Coastal Commission are recommending approval of a permit needed for major decommissioning operations to begin at the San Onofre Nuclear Generating Station (SONGS) in San Diego County. However, approval of the coastal development permit would be dependent on SONGS’ owners agreeing to nearly 20 special conditions, if the staff recommendations are […]

The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission on May 17 announced it would collect $782.5 million in licensee fees for the current federal fiscal 2019 budget year, a slight bump up from the amount proposed earlier in the year. The final fee rule will take effect on July 16, according to a notice in the Federal Register. By […]

By John Stang The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission gave the green light Tuesday for resumption of loading used nuclear fuel into dry storage at the retired San Onofre Nuclear Generating Station (SONGS) in California. The decision puts plant majority owner Southern California Edison (SCE) and fuel offloading contractor Holtec International on a direct path to […]

The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission gave the green light Tuesday for resumption of loading used nuclear fuel into dry storage at the San Onofre Nuclear Generating Station (SONGS) in California. The actual work will resume after plant majority owner Southern California Edison (SCE) and fuel offloading contractor Holtec International review their readiness to restart operations.  […]

By John Stang Holtec International’s founder and top executive lashed out earlier this month at a California citizens advisory panel that criticized its work at the retired San Onofre Nuclear Generating Station (SONGS). President and CEO Kris Singh was responding to an April 8 memo by the three top members of the SONGS Community Engagement […]

Exelon said Wednesday that efforts in the Pennsylvania legislature to provide financial support to the state’s nuclear power sites would not arrive in time to save its reactor at the Three Mile Island Generating Plant near Harrisburg. “With only three legislative days remaining in May and no action taken to advance House Bill 11 or […]

The California Coastal Commission is tentatively scheduled in June to consider a permit that would allow major decommissioning to begin at the San Onofre Nuclear Generating Station (SONGS). “Commission staff is presently planning on the item being heard at the Commission’s June meeting, but this schedule is not final and could be subject to change […]

Nuclear services firm EnergySolutions said Tuesday it has hired a former Fluor executive to manage its reactor decontamination and decommissioning business line. As senior vice president of reactor D&D business development and commercial strategy, Mike Lackey “is responsible for development and execution of Win-Win strategies to secure new commercial D&D projects,” according to his LinkedIn […]

The San Diego advocacy group Public Watchdogs is suing a California state agency to prevent decommissioning of the San Onofre Nuclear Generating Station (SONGS) until a new environmental review of the project is conducted. At issue is the California State Lands Commission’s approval on March 21 of an agency staff environmental impact report (EIR) on […]

The Omaha, Neb., Public Power District (OPPD) on Monday announced it had hired nuclear services firm EnergySolutions to support decommissioning of the retired Fort Calhoun Station power plant. EnergySolutions will provide “technical and specialized project expertise,” while OPPD personnel will manage the overall decommissioning, according to a press release from the utility. Additional details regarding […]

The San Diego advocacy group Public Watchdogs is suing a California state agency to prevent decommissioning of the San Onofre Nuclear Generating Station (SONGS) until a new environmental review of the project is published. At issue is the California State Lands Commission’s approval on March 21 of an environmental impact report (EIR) on decommissioning the […]

Six corporate teams have been approved to compete for £400 million ($517 million) worth of decommissioning projects at the former Dounreay fast-reactor site in Scotland. Opportunities under a broad decommissioning services framework include building a size reduction facility, shaft and silo decommissioning, and teardown of historic active laboratories, according to a Tuesday announcement from decommissioning […]

Six corporate teams have been approved to compete for £400 million ($517 million) worth of decommissioning projects at the former Dounreay fast-reactor site in Scotland. Opportunities under a broad decommissioning services framework include building a size reduction facility, shaft and silo decommissioning, and teardown of historic active laboratories, according to a Tuesday announcement from decommissioning […]

FirstEnergy Corp. is optimistic about limiting the impact of the bankruptcy of subsidiary FirstEnergy Solutions on the parent corporation’s financial picture, according to slides to be presented today during a quarterly earnings presentation. The slides were attached to a quarterly filing Tuesday with the U.S. Securities & Exchange Commission. It says FirstEnergy and its subsidiary […]

The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission hopes in August to begin a series of at least 10 meetings to gather public input for preparation of a congressionally mandated report on best practices for local community boards to provide advice on nuclear decommissioning projects. The report is due by 2020 under the terms of Sen. John Barrasso’s […]

In a reversal, the current Energy Department contractor will start tearing down the Main Plant Process Building at the West Valley Demonstration Project in New York state. The Energy Department said earlier this year the demolition would be conducted under a successor to the current site cleanup contract held by CH2M HILL BWXT West Valley […]

EnergySolutions said Thursday it has finished on-site remediation of the Southwest Experimental Fast Oxide Reactor (SEFOR) near Fayetteville, Ark. “The application of the EnergySolutions Decommissioning Management Model at SEFOR produced results that exceeded our expectations,” EnergySolutions Chief Nuclear Officer John Sauger said in a press release. “A site that pioneered research for reactivity control in […]

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers expects in mid-June to issue the request for proposals for decommissioning of the long-retired SM-1 nuclear reactor at Fort Belvoir, Va., a senior official said Monday. This will be the final version of the solicitation, as the procurement schedule did not allow time for a draft document that could […]

By John Stang Exelon plans to delay decommissioning of its soon-to-retire Three Mile Island nuclear plant reactor Unit 1 (TM-1) for nearly 60 years, with a roughly $1.2 billion cost estimate for full cleanup. The reactor will join the long-closed Three Mile Island Unit 2 in the long-term storage and monitoring condition known as SAFSTOR, […]

By John Stang Holtec International said Tuesday it aims to buy a fourth nuclear power plant that nearing retirement, the Indian Point Energy Center in upstate New York. The announcement came less than a month after the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission asked Holtec to show it is not spread too thin to handle multiple nuclear […]

U.S. Rep. Mike Levin (D-Calif.) said Tuesday he plans to introduce legislation that would expedite removal of spent reactor fuel from the San Onofre Nuclear Generating Station (SONGS) in California. “Today, I was pleased to announce new legislation to ensure that the spent nuclear fuel here in Southern California receives top priority from the federal […]

Rep. Mike Levin (D-Calif.) said Tuesday he plans to introduce legislation that would expedite removal of spent reactor fuel from the San Onofre Nuclear Generating Station (SONGS). “Today, I was pleased to announce new legislation to ensure that the spent nuclear fuel here in Southern California receives top priority from the federal government for disposal,” […]

Holtec International said Tuesday it aims to buy a fourth nuclear power plant that is on the verge of retirement, the Indian Point Energy Center in upstate New York. The New Jersey energy technology company and Indian Point owner Entergy announced the planned deal in largely identical press releases Tuesday morning. If the sale goes […]

In a reversal, the current Energy Department contractor will start tearing down the Main Plant Process Building at the West Valley Demonstration Project in New York state . The Energy Department said earlier this year the demolition would be conducted under a successor to the current site cleanup contract held by CH2M HILL BWXT West […]

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers expects in mid-June to issue the request for proposals for decommissioning of the long-retired SM-1 nuclear reactor at Fort Belvoir, Va., a senior official said Monday. This will be the final version of the solicitation, as the procurement schedule did not allow time for a draft document that could […]

By John Stang FirstEnergy Nuclear Operating Co. (FENOC) says it will ensure its decommissioning trust funds are up to snuff for covering costs for cleanup of its three nuclear power plants in Ohio and Pennsylvania. However, the company has not yet determined whether it will move to immediately decommission the facilities or let them sit […]

Open-air demolition using heavy equipment of the Plutonium Finishing Plant (PFP) at the Hanford Site in Washington state resumed on Thursday. It is the first demolition at the plant since an airborne spread of radioactive contamination was discovered in December 2017. Workers with cleanup contractor CH2M Hill Plateau Remediation Co. were ready to restart teardown […]

The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission in stepping on federal law and its own regulations in re-assuming authority over disposal of “very low-level” radioactive waste by power plants in agency agreement states, according to the trade group for the nuclear industry. In a Feb. 28 letter to the NRC, Nuclear Energy Institute General Counsel Ellen Ginsberg […]

The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission has scheduled a meeting for April 25 in Florida to take public comment on Duke Energy’s request for the release of much of the property for its retired Crystal River nuclear power plant. In January, Duke filed the request for release of 3,854 acres of the 4,738-acre property from the […]