Archive

Zion

The Zion Nuclear Power Station in Zion, Illinois, a two-unit pressurized water reactor shut down in 1998 and fully decommissioned by 2020.

  • U.S. commercial nuclear sector enjoys reversal of fortune

    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 […]

  • NRC Adds Another Year to Zion License Transfer Agreement

    The Nuclear Regulatory Commission again extended the deadline on the license transfer agreement for an Illinois nuclear power plant under decommissioning to give agency staff more time to clear the site for unrestricted use, according to a recent notice. The transfer of Zion Nuclear Power Station back to Exelon from EnergySolutions won’t need to be […]

  • NRC Adds Another Year to Zion License Transfer Agreement

    The Nuclear Regulatory Commission again extended the deadline on the license transfer agreement for an Illinois nuclear power plant under decommissioning to give agency staff more time to clear the site for unrestricted use, according to a recent notice. The transfer of Zion Nuclear Power Station back to Exelon from EnergySolutions won’t need to be […]

  • Wrap Up: NRC Approves Zion Plant License Transfer Back to Owner

    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 […]

  • NRC Approves Zion Plant License Transfer Back to Owner

    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 […]

  • NRC Gives Update on Reactor Decommissioning

    At the end of the last federal fiscal year on Sept. 30, the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission was overseeing decommissioning of 23 nuclear power and early demonstration reactors. Of those reactors, 11 were undergoing active decommissioning and the remaining 12 were in SAFSTOR, or safe storage, in which final cleanup can be delayed for up […]

  • Global Nuclear Power Closures Creep Up to 181, Report Says

    A total of 181 nuclear power reactors around the world have been retired as of July 1, but only 19 of those have been fully decommissioned, according to the 2019 version of the World Nuclear Industry Status Report. The number of shuttered reactors rose by eight from the 2018 version of report. The United States, […]

  • NRC Readies Public Meetings on Decommissioning Advisory Boards

    The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission plans through fall to hold 11 public meetings in communities near nuclear power plants that have closed or are nearing the end of the service life. The purpose of the meetings is to discuss best practices for community boards that would provide advice on decommissioning of the facilities, as required […]

  • ‘No Funding Issue’ With Zion Decommissioning, Despite Shortfall, EnergySolutions Says

    EnergySolutions last week acknowledged it is still running a multimillion-dollar shortfall in the trust fund to pay for decommissioning of the Zion Nuclear Power Station in Illinois, but affirmed it has the money needed to cover any gap. The Salt Lake City, Utah-based nuclear services firm on June 13 provided the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission […]

  • ‘No Funding Issue’ With Zion Decommissioning, EnergySolutions Says

    EnergySolutions on Sunday said a seeming $15.2 million shortfall in the decommissioning trust fund for the Zion Nuclear Power Station in Illinois was the result solely of a documentation error. “There was an error in the original submission of the [trust fund] balance to the” Nuclear Regulatory Commission,” the Salt Lake City, Utah-based nuclear services […]

  • Zion Decommissioning Trust Has $15.2M Shortfall, NRC Says

    The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission wants a subsidiary of nuclear services provider EnergySolutions to explain an apparent $15.2 million shortfall in the decommissioning trust fund for the Zion Nuclear Power Station in Illinois. ZionSolutions is the NRC licensee for the retired two-reactor facility while it carries out decommissioning for owner Exelon Generation Corp. In its […]

  • Approps Bill Language Aims to Help Communities Stuck With Spent Fuel

    Language inserted into the fiscal 2019 “minibus” appropriations bill that Congress passed last week aims to help local jurisdictions offset the cost of being stuck with spent nuclear fuel from retired nuclear power plants. If President Donald Trump signs H.R. 5895, the Department of Energy would have 180 days to submit to Congress a study […]

  • NRC Anticipates No Major Environmental Impacts from Terminating Zion Plant License

    By John Stang The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission has determined there would be no significant environmental impact in approving the license termination plan for the Zion Nuclear Power Station in Illinois. Agency staff on June 25 issued an environmental assessment and finding of no significant impact (FONSI) for the 2014 request from ZionSolutions, a subsidiary […]

  • Q&A: Vote Coming on Yucca Bill, NEI Official Says

    Despite its lack of movement for nearly a year, there remains hope for legislation intended to give a strong push for building a nuclear waste repository at Yucca Mountain in Nevada, a senior official with the nuclear industry’s policy organization said this week. Rep. John Shimkus’ (R-Ill.) H.R. 3053, the Nuclear Waste Policy Amendments Act […]

  • Communities With Closed Nuclear Plants Need Immediate and Long-Term Assistance: Congressman

    A closed nuclear power plant is an economic challenge to its host community that that could linger for decades while it is torn down and its radioactive waste waits to be removed at some undetermined point in time. This requires a response that is equally focused on the present and the future, according to Rep. […]

  • Law Would Aid Communities Stuck With Spent Nuclear Fuel

    Thomas Gardiner Federal legislation introduced this week could mean millions of dollars in relief for communities still housing spent reactor fuel at nuclear plants, according to two lawmakers from Illinois. The catalyst for the bill is the former Zion plant in Illinois, where used fuel remains in storage nearly two decades after the facility’s closure […]

  • Law Would Aid Communities Stuck With Spent Nuclear Fuel

    Proposed legislation could mean millions of dollars in relief for communities still housing spent reactor fuel at nuclear plants, according to two lawmakers from Illinois. The catalyst for the upcoming bill is the former Zion plant in Illinois, where used fuel remains in storage nearly two decades after the facility’s closure in 1998. “Zion and […]