The Board of Directors for the Omaha, Neb., Public Power District (OPPD) is expected to vote Thursday on whether to change the decommissioning approach for the Fort Calhoun Station nuclear power plant.
The board’s Nuclear Oversight Committee met Tuesday to discuss a resolution on decommissioning planning. However, the document was being updated based on feedback from the panel and was not yet being made publicly available, according to OPPD spokesman Cris Averett.
The full board is expected to take up the resolution at its meeting Thursday. It addresses the question of whether the utility should abandon the existing plan to place Fort Calhoun into SAFSTOR (safe storage) mode for decades and instead proceed directly into active decommissioning (DECON).
“We anticipate a board vote Thursday on entering into DECON,” Averett said by email. “If the decision is made to enter DECON, we will begin negotiating with decommissioning specialists for the necessary support.”
Fort Calhoun’s pressurized water reactor was shut down in October 2016, and OPPD planned to place the plant into monitored dormancy for 40 years before preparing for and then carrying out decommissioning. That work would wrap up in 2066 under this timeline. Decommissioning, site restoration, and spent fuel management over the entire period were estimated in total to cost $1.295 billion.
But in a presentation given to the board in September, OPPD officials said decontamination and decommissioning could conclude in 2028 at a cost of $670 million. The other costs would remain fixed, for a total price tag of $1.083 billion.
“I won’t speculate on the desired outcome of the resolution, but will say that any decisions will be well-informed and have the best interests of our customer-owners, our employees and our communities squarely in mind,” Averett wrote.
