The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission has signed off on transferring the reactor and spent-fuel storage licenses for the Zion nuclear power plant in Illinois from decommissioning contractor EnergySolutions to site owner Exelon.
The order from agency staff took effect on Nov. 26, according to a Dec. 6 notice in the Federal Register. It is good for one year, covering Zion reactor Units 1 and 2 and the site’s independent spent fuel storage installation (ISFSI).
“The NRC determined that [Exelon Generation Co.] is qualified to be the holder of the licenses and that the transfer of the licenses is otherwise consistent with applicable provisions of law, regulations, and orders issued by the Commission,” the notice says.
The actual license transfer would occur after EnergySolutions completes decommissioning. The Salt Lake City-based nuclear services firm expects that to happen in spring 2020.
Zion featured two pressurized-water reactors. Unit 1 received its NRC operating license in October 1973 and operated until February 1997. Unit 2 was licensed in November 1973 and operated to September 1996.
EnergySolutions subsidiary ZionSolutions began decommissioning in 2010, including the transfer of the reactors’ used fuel into on-site dry storage, segmentation and removal of the reactor vessels, and demolition and disassembly of other structures.
Upon completion of decommissioning, the NRC would conduct a final site survey and restrict the site license to only the ISFSI. That license would remain active until the used fuel is removed from the property. The NRC expects to complete the site survey and license reduction by Sept. 30, 2020.