Entergy submitted last week the Post-Shutdown Decommissioning Activities Report for Vermont Yankee, with minimal changes to the plan outlined in its site assessment report the company issued earlier this year. The PSDAR estimated the cost of the cleanup at $1.24 billion, with costs associated with terminating the NRC operating license at $817 million, spent fuel management at $368 million, and site restoration at $57 million. Entergy also is seeking an additional $145 million credit line to help pay for initial spent fuel management costs.
Vermont Yankee has chosen the SAFESTOR option that enables the plant to sit for up to 60 years before major decommissioning activities need to begin. Because the reactor is shutting down prematurely, its decommissioning trust fund has not accrued enough interest to cover the costs. The SAFESTOR option enables the fund to grow enough to cover the costs, and Entergy has pledged to the state of Vermont it would not use the full 60 years allotted under the NRC regulation, rather it would begin when the fund had the necessary funds. The fund has approximately $665 million as of Nov. 30, 2014, the utility said.
Entergy announced last year that it would be entering premature shutdown of the Vermont Yankee station at the end of 2014, despite receiving a 20 year license extension from the NRC. The company cited economic factors as the basis for the shutdown, although Entergy and Vermont have been engaged in a contentious court battle over its licensing. Vermont and Entergy came to an agreement at the end of last year that stipulated the utility will place the plant in SAFESTOR only until its decommissioning fund collects enough money to cover the costs of decommissioning. Entergy anticipates beginning work in 2040, with spent fuel moved to dry cask storage by 2020.
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