EnergySolutions and the Omaha Public Power District have recently completed the demolition of the containment building at the Fort Calhoun Nuclear Generating Station in Nebraska.
In a Nov. 25 LinkedIn post, EnergySolutions congratulated its Fort Calhoun decommissioning team for dismantling the plant’s containment building ahead of schedule.
In a Monday emailed statement to Exchange Monitor, an Omaha Public Power District spokesperson said the containment work was finished a few weeks ahead of schedule. The project still remains on track to be completed by the third quarter of 2026, the spokesperson added.
EnergySolutions and Omaha Public Power District began preparations for the demolition of the containment building in August and the work was completed on Oct. 17, according to the Omaha Public Power District spokesperson.
The material from the containment building will be transported to the EnergySolutions disposal facility in Clive, Utah, the Omaha Public Power District spokesperson said. After disposing of the remainder of the containment material, Omaha Public Power District will turn its focus to the substantial completion of the project.
“That will conclude the major deconstruction work,” the Omaha Public Power District spokesperson told the Monitor. “The remaining focus for the majority of 2026 will be completing site radiological surveys and the associated documentation needed to request termination of the license.”
According to a November report from the Omaha Public Power District nuclear oversight committee, it said the 43-day government shutdown slowed down the authorization timeline of its decommissioning documents.
“While the impact on the physical work scheduled is minimal, the impact on final documentation submittal and ultimately the release of the site for unrestricted use is yet to be determined,” the committee said in the report.
Fort Calhoun Station, located near Blair, Neb., is a single pressurized water reactor plant that generated 484 megawatts. The Omaha Public Power District-owned plant ceased operations in 2016.
EnergySolutions was hired in 2019 to provide technical and specialized project expertise for the decommissioning project.