Zion
The Zion Nuclear Power Station in Zion, Illinois, a two-unit pressurized water reactor shut down in 1998 and fully decommissioned by 2020.
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Commercial Decommissioning
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 […]
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Commercial Decommissioning
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 […]
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Decommissioning
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 […]
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Decommissioning
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 […]
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Commercial Decommissioning
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 […]
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Decommissioning
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 […]
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Decommissioning
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, […]
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Decommissioning
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 […]
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Decommissioning
‘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 […]
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Decommissioning
‘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 […]
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Decommissioning
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 […]
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Interim Storage & Waste Disposal
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 […]
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Decommissioning
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 […]
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Decommissioning
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 […]
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Decommissioning
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. […]
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Interim Storage & Waste Disposal
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 […]
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Interim Storage & Waste Disposal
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 […]




