Recommissioning & Restarts

LOUISVILLE, KY— In a five-year span, prospects for the U.S. commercial nuclear power sector have gone from gloomy to upbeat, an executive with the industry group, Nuclear Energy Institute, said here last week. As recently as 2019, up to 20 U.S. reactors, or more than one-fifth of the fleet, were expected to shut down under […]

LOUISVILLE, KY— In a five-year span, prospects for the U.S. commercial nuclear power sector have gone from gloomy to upbeat, an executive with the industry group, Nuclear Energy Institute, said here last week. As recently as 2019, up to 20 U.S. reactors, or more than one-fifth of the fleet, were expected to shut down under […]

Baltimore-based Constellation Energy has not decided if it will pursue restart of its Three Mile Island Unit 1 reactor in Pennsylvania, which was shuttered for economic reasons in 2019, the company said Thursday in an email response to an inquiry from Exchange Monitor. “Restarting closed nuclear plants offers another opportunity for the industry to add […]

The Exchange Monitor was set to host its 18th annual RadWaste Summit in Louisville, Ky., June 3-5 at the Louisville Marriott Downtown. The agenda for the yearly gathering of government and industry professionals features speakers from the Department of Energy’s Office of Environmental Management, Office of Nuclear Energy and National Nuclear Security Administration.   The […]

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission will host a virtual public meeting on April 29 to hear about Holtec International’s quality assurance plan for the planned restart of the Palisades Nuclear Generating Station in Michigan. Holtec will submit the plan after the meeting, according to a notice the NRC filed online this Tuesday. During the virtual gathering, to begin […]

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission will host a virtual public meeting on April 29 to hear about Holtec International’s quality assurance plan for the planned restart of the Palisades Nuclear Generating Station in Michigan. Holtec will submit the plan after the meeting, according to a notice the NRC filed online this Tuesday.  During the virtual gathering, […]

In a regulatory filing made public this week, Holtec International gave itself a little wiggle room and said it would restart the Palisades Nuclear Plant in Michigan by the end of September 2025. Holtec, Jupiter, Fla., in late March got the Department of Energy to conditionally agree to loan the company $1.5 billion for the […]

Nuclear Regulatory Commission staff need a little less than a year to review a request for a license amendment Holtec needs to restart Michigan’s Palisades Nuclear Generating Station, according to a letter published Tuesday. “With respect to your requested completion schedule of March 15, 2025, the NRC staff believes that it will complete the safety […]

Holtec will receive a $1.52 billion loan from the Department of Energy’s Loan Programs Office to restart the shuttered Palisades Nuclear Generating Station in Michigan, the agency announced this week. Secretary of Energy Jennifer Granholm announced the conditional commitment on Wednesday ahead of a tour of the Holtec Palisades Training Center in Covert, Mich. Granholm […]

The San Luis Obispo County Board on Wednesday passed a resolution supporting a life extension for the local Diablo Canyon Nuclear Power Plant by a vote of 3-2. Voting yes were Supervisors Dawn Ortiz-Legg (District 3), Debbie Arnold, the chair, (District 5) and John Peschong (District 1). Voting no were Supervisors Bruce Gibson (District 2) […]

Holtec will receive a $1.52 billion loan from the Department of Energy’s Loan Programs Office to restart the shuttered Palisades Nuclear Generating Station in Michigan, the agency announced Wednesday. Secretary of Energy Jennifer Granholm announced the conditional commitment ahead of a planned tour of the Holtec Palisades Training Center in Covert, Mich. Granholm is visiting […]

Nuclear Regulatory Commission staff need a little less than a year to review a request for a license amendment Holtec needs to restart Michigan’s Palisades Nuclear Generating Station, according to a letter published Tuesday. “With respect to your requested completion schedule of March 15, 2025, the NRC staff believes that it will complete the safety […]

The San Luis Obispo County Board of Supervisors planned to consider a resolution supporting a life extension for nearby Diablo Canyon during a meeting scheduled for Wednesday morning. The board was to consider “a resolution that supports operation of Diablo Canyon Power Plant for 20 years,” according to an item on the agenda for the […]

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission established an Atomic Safety and Licensing Board to consider Pacific Gas and Electric (PG&E) Company’s application to extend the life of the Diablo Canyon Nuclear Power Plant’s two nuclear reactors, the agency said in a Federal Register filing. PG&E is seeking a 20-year license renewal for the reactors. The state of […]

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission on Monday requested about $2.5 million in fiscal year 2025 to review Holtec International’s requests to restart the Palisades Nuclear Plant in Michigan. In its latest budget request, NRC also said it needs the equivalent of more than nine full-time staffers to review Holtec’s requests, which consist of multiple filings for […]

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission on Monday requested about $2.5 million in fiscal year 2025 to review Holtec International’s requests to restart the Palisades Nuclear Plant in Michigan. In its latest budget request, NRC also said it needs the equivalent of more than nine full-time staffers to review Holtec’s requests, which consist of multiple filings for […]

Environmental groups this week requested a hearing over Pacific Gas & Electric’s plan to renew its Nuclear Regulatory Commission operating licenses for the Diablo Canyon Nuclear Power Plant’s two reactors. San Luis Obispo Mothers for Peace, Friends of the Earth and Environmental Working Group filed their hearing request on Monday. The state of California has […]

Holtec International, Jupiter, Fla., broke Nuclear Regulatory Commission rules between 2021 and 2023 by using money from the Palisades Nuclear Plant’s decommissioning trust fund for expenses unrelated to decommissioning the plant, the commission said last week. Holtec spent $57,000 from the fund on “restart activities” and “community events/support activities,” according to an NRC inspection report […]

Most of the Democratic candidates running for the nomination to fill the U.S. Senate seat left vacant by Dianne Feinstein’s death in September do not support a life extension for the Diablo Canyon Nuclear Power Plant in deep-blue California.  In a televised debate Wednesday, a recording of which Los Angeles’ local NBC affiliate posted on […]

Holtec International has filed for federal relief from what the Jupiter, Fla., company says is the biggest regulatory hurdle to restarting the Palisades Nuclear Plant in Michigan. Pending a big federal loan and the replacement of some major hardware including a new steam generator, Holtec plans to be ready to restart Palisades “in the third quarter […]

Holtec International has filed for federal relief from what the Jupiter, Fla., company says is the biggest regulatory hurdle to restarting the Palisades Nuclear Plant in Michigan. Pending a big federal loan and the replacement of some major hardware including a new steam generator, Holtec plans to be ready to restart Palisades “in the third […]

The Unit 1 reactor vessel in California’s Diablo Canyon Power Plant should not be too brittle to operate for the five-year life extension the state has proposed for the plant, a consultant reported to a state agency. The Diablo Canyon Independent Safety Committee commissioned the report by former NRC engineer and current consultant Mark Kirk […]

The Unit 1 reactor vessel in California’s Diablo Canyon Power Plant should not be too brittle to operate for the five-year life extension the state has proposed for the plant, a consultant reported to a state agency. The Diablo Canyon Independent Safety Committee commissioned the report by former NRC engineer and current consultant Mark Kirk […]

To help restart the Palisades Nuclear Plant, Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer (D) this week recommended another $150 million in state funding, which if approved by lawmakers would bring Michigan’s total aid package to $300 million. That is the amount plant owner Holtec International, Jupiter, Fla., says it needs from the state to help restart the […]

Nuclear Regulatory Commission staff need until August 2025 to review an application to keep California’s last nuclear power plant online for five more years according to a letter published online this week. That is according to a letter, dated Jan. 26, to Paula Gerfen, senior vice president of Generation  and chief nuclear officer for Diablo […]

Nuclear Regulatory Commission staff need until January 2025 to amend Holtec International’s license for the Palisades Nuclear Generating Station in Michigan, which the company wants to restart that August, commission staff said last week. “With respect to your requested completion schedule of January 31, 2025, the NRC staff believes that it will complete the safety […]

Nuclear Regulatory Commission staff need until January 2025 to amend Holtec International’s license for the Palisades Nuclear Generating Station in Michigan, which the company wants to restart that August, commission staff said last week. “With respect to your requested completion schedule of January 31, 2025, the NRC staff believes that it will complete the safety […]

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission started an environmental review of Pacific Gas & Electric Co.’s plan to keep California’s last nuclear power plant open until 2030, the agency announced Wednesday. The commission plans an online public meeting about the proposed review on Feb. 1 and an in-person meeting at the Embassy Suites Hotel in San Luis Obispo, Calif., on […]

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission started an environmental review of Pacific Gas & Electric Co.’s plan to keep California’s last nuclear power plant open until 2030, the agency announced Wednesday. The commission plans an online public meeting about the proposed review on Feb. 1 and an in-person meeting at the Embassy Suites Hotel in San Luis […]

In the first courtroom action for a lawsuit opposing a life extension of California’s last nuclear plant, federal judges on Wednesday asked if the case belonged in their court and whether keeping it there could unleash a tide of new environmental lawsuits. “I’m trying to decide the floodgate here,” said Circuit Judge Consuelo Callahan, an […]