The owner of the closed Vermont Yankee Nuclear Power Station and the company proposing to buy and decommission the plant have announced a settlement with the state of Vermont and other interested parties. Under the settlement agreement and a related memorandum of understanding, proposed buyer NorthStar Group Services Inc. would provide increased financial assurances and a "comprehensive reporting protocol" and agreed to detailed standards for restoring the project site in the town of Vernon. If approved by regulators, the deal could also lead to the Vermont Yankee plant's decontamination and dismantlement about 45 years sooner than current owner and licensee Entergy Corp. originally proposed.
The Vermont Yankee Nuclear Power Station began commercial operation in 1972. Entergy bought the plant from the Vermont Yankee Nuclear Power Corp. in 2002, and shut it down permanently on December 29, 2014. In a Post Shutdown Decommissioning Activities Report contemporaneously filed with the Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Entergy said it expected to initiate decontamination and dismantlement of the Vermont
Yankee site in 2068, with projected completion of both decommissioning
and site restoration by 2075. In November 2016, Entergy proposed selling the site to NorthStar for decommissioning.
On March 7, 2018, Entergy and NorthStar announced what they called "significant milestones in the approval of the proposed transaction": signing a settlement agreement and memorandum of understanding with Vermont state agencies and other interested parties. Agencies signing the agreement, in whole or in part, included the Vermont Department of Public Service, Agency of Natural Resources, Department of Health, and Attorney General's Office. Other signatories to the settlement include the Town of Vernon Planning and Economic Development Commission, the Windham Regional Commission, the Abenaki Nation of Missisquoi and the Elnu Abenaki Tribe, and the New England Coalition on Nuclear Pollution (NEC).
Under the settlement's revised vision of the proposed transaction, NorthStar
has committed to initiate decontamination and dismantlement by 2021
(and potentially as early as 2019) and to complete decommissioning and
restoration of most of the Vermont Yankee site by 2030 (and potentially as early
as 2026). The Independent Spent Fuel Storage Installation or ISFSI would remain on-site.
The settlement also calls for NorthStar to provide additional financial assurance beyond that originally proposed. Enhanced financial assurance provisions include an increase in the amount of NorthStar's corporate support agreement from $125 million to $140 million; establishment of an escrow account, subcontractor guaranty, and pollution insurance requirements; and a comprehensive reporting protocol. Entergy also committed to contribute to the Site Restoration Trust, and to possibly use future proceeds from litigation against the U.S. Department of Energy over spent fuel storage costs as additional financial assurance.
The settlement remains subject to approval by the Vermont Public Utility Commission. The transaction would also require approval by the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
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Showing posts with label decommissioning. Show all posts
Showing posts with label decommissioning. Show all posts
New Jersey FERC license surrender and dam removal
Monday, August 15, 2016
U.S. energy regulators have accepted an application to surrender the licensee for a New Jersey hydropower project. Earlier this month, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission accepted Great Bear Hydropower Inc.'s application to surrender its license for the Columbia Dam Project, located on the Paulins Kill. While the Commission decision to accept license surrender does not necessarily mean the dam will be removed, it represents a significant step toward letting the dam owner pursue dam removal if it wishes. The case also illustrates tensions between hydropower development and dam removal, which remain active in U.S. policy discussions, and the consequences of state jurisdiction following FERC license surrender.
On January 15, 1986, the Commission issued a 40-year license for the construction, operation, and maintenance of hydroelectric facilities at the existing Columbia Dam. The project includes a 20-foot-high, 330-foot-long concrete dam, originally built by a utility in 1909. The site was sold to the state in 1955, after which the original electric generation was discontinued. Following the project's 1986 licensing by FERC, the licensee added a powerhouse containing two generating units with a total installed generating capacity of 530 kilowatts.
The dam remains owned by the state of New Jersey as part of the Columbia Wildlife Management Area, and the licensee has been operating the project under a long-term lease with the state. But significant efforts are under way to improve water quality in the Delaware River basin. The Nature Conservancy has described a strategy for watershed restoration that features the Columbia Dam's removal as a key component. After the state and The Nature Conservancy entered into an agreement to remove the dam, the licensee ultimately agreed to surrender its license and remove only its hydroelectric facilities originally added to the dam, leaving the state to perform any future dam removal.
Because the Columbia Dam Project is subject to Part 1 of the Federal Power Act, its license could not be surrendered without approval of the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission. The licensee applied for surrender in October 2015. The Commission granted that approval on August 10, 2016.
The FERC license surrender does not necessarily mean that the dam itself will be removed, although it does provide for decommissioning of the hydropower equipment. The Commission accepted the licensee's proposal to remove the generating equipment, transformers from the powerhouse, and disconnect the electric connection to the local utility. The license surrender will not be effective until the Commission agrees that the project’s facilities have been decommissioned in accordance with this surrender order.
As for the dam, the Commission noted, "It will be up to the state of New Jersey, the dam owner, to decide whether to remove the Columbia Dam, once the hydroelectric facilities have been decommissioned. Dam removal would have some ecological, social, and economic benefits for the Paulins Kill watershed." Following the effectiveness of license surrender, safety matters would primarily be state jurisdictional, and any dam removal would proceed primarily under state law.
While hydropower continues to play a significant role in the overall U.S. energy mix, with new and ongoing federal initiatives to increase hydropower generation, in some cases economics and environmental considerations may lead to the surrender of some project licenses. This may be particularly true for some relatively small dams with fish passage issues facing relicensing in coming years.
On January 15, 1986, the Commission issued a 40-year license for the construction, operation, and maintenance of hydroelectric facilities at the existing Columbia Dam. The project includes a 20-foot-high, 330-foot-long concrete dam, originally built by a utility in 1909. The site was sold to the state in 1955, after which the original electric generation was discontinued. Following the project's 1986 licensing by FERC, the licensee added a powerhouse containing two generating units with a total installed generating capacity of 530 kilowatts.
The dam remains owned by the state of New Jersey as part of the Columbia Wildlife Management Area, and the licensee has been operating the project under a long-term lease with the state. But significant efforts are under way to improve water quality in the Delaware River basin. The Nature Conservancy has described a strategy for watershed restoration that features the Columbia Dam's removal as a key component. After the state and The Nature Conservancy entered into an agreement to remove the dam, the licensee ultimately agreed to surrender its license and remove only its hydroelectric facilities originally added to the dam, leaving the state to perform any future dam removal.
Because the Columbia Dam Project is subject to Part 1 of the Federal Power Act, its license could not be surrendered without approval of the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission. The licensee applied for surrender in October 2015. The Commission granted that approval on August 10, 2016.
The FERC license surrender does not necessarily mean that the dam itself will be removed, although it does provide for decommissioning of the hydropower equipment. The Commission accepted the licensee's proposal to remove the generating equipment, transformers from the powerhouse, and disconnect the electric connection to the local utility. The license surrender will not be effective until the Commission agrees that the project’s facilities have been decommissioned in accordance with this surrender order.
As for the dam, the Commission noted, "It will be up to the state of New Jersey, the dam owner, to decide whether to remove the Columbia Dam, once the hydroelectric facilities have been decommissioned. Dam removal would have some ecological, social, and economic benefits for the Paulins Kill watershed." Following the effectiveness of license surrender, safety matters would primarily be state jurisdictional, and any dam removal would proceed primarily under state law.
While hydropower continues to play a significant role in the overall U.S. energy mix, with new and ongoing federal initiatives to increase hydropower generation, in some cases economics and environmental considerations may lead to the surrender of some project licenses. This may be particularly true for some relatively small dams with fish passage issues facing relicensing in coming years.
Massachusetts nuclear power plant to close
Tuesday, October 13, 2015
The Pilgrim Nuclear Power Station, the sole nuclear power plant in Massachusetts, will close by June 2019, according to its owner Entergy Corp.
Entergy is an integrated energy company headquartered in New Orleans, Louisiana. Entergy is one of the leading nuclear generators in the U.S., with nearly 10,000 megawatts in nuclear generating capacity as well as about 20,000 megawatts of other electric generating capacity, as well as serving retail utility customers in Arkansas, Louisiana, Mississippi and Texas.
The company's Entergy Wholesale Commodities business owns and operates five nuclear power units located in the northern United States, and sells electricity produced by those plants to wholesale customers. Those units include Pilgrim Station's Unit 1, a boiling water reactor with a maximum dependable capacity of 688 megawatts. The Pilgrim Station unit was installed in 1972, and is currently licensed through June 8, 2032.
Today Entergy announced plans to close Pilgrim Station by June 2019. In its press release, Entergy cites "poor market conditions, reduced revenues and increased operational costs." In Entergy's view, low current and forecast wholesale energy prices "brought about by record low natural gas prices, driven by shale gas production" hurt Pilgrim's revenues; wholesale energy market design flaws mean merchant nuclear power plants are inadequately compensated, while "unfavorable state energy proposals ... subsidize renewable energy resources at the expense of Pilgrim and other plants." Entergy also cites "increased operational costs and enhanced Nuclear Regulatory Commission oversight" following a recent NRC decision to give Pilgrim a higher level of scrutiny.
The announcement resembles a 2013 decision by Entergy to close the Vermont Yankee Nuclear Power Station, a plant similar in vintage to Pilgrim Station. Entergy announced Vermont Yankee's closure in 2013; that plant ceased commercial operation at the end of 2014, and Vermont Yankee's decommissioning is now underway. In announcing the Vermont Yankee closure, Entergy pointed to financial factors including a "natural gas market that has undergone a transformational shift in supply due to the impacts of shale gas, resulting in sustained low natural gas prices and wholesale energy prices", high plant cost structures, and wholesale market design flaws.
According to Entergy, it has notified regional electric grid operator ISO New England Inc. of its intent to exit the region's capacity market. Entergy said the exact timing of plant shutdown will be decided in the first half of 2016.
Entergy is an integrated energy company headquartered in New Orleans, Louisiana. Entergy is one of the leading nuclear generators in the U.S., with nearly 10,000 megawatts in nuclear generating capacity as well as about 20,000 megawatts of other electric generating capacity, as well as serving retail utility customers in Arkansas, Louisiana, Mississippi and Texas.
The company's Entergy Wholesale Commodities business owns and operates five nuclear power units located in the northern United States, and sells electricity produced by those plants to wholesale customers. Those units include Pilgrim Station's Unit 1, a boiling water reactor with a maximum dependable capacity of 688 megawatts. The Pilgrim Station unit was installed in 1972, and is currently licensed through June 8, 2032.
Today Entergy announced plans to close Pilgrim Station by June 2019. In its press release, Entergy cites "poor market conditions, reduced revenues and increased operational costs." In Entergy's view, low current and forecast wholesale energy prices "brought about by record low natural gas prices, driven by shale gas production" hurt Pilgrim's revenues; wholesale energy market design flaws mean merchant nuclear power plants are inadequately compensated, while "unfavorable state energy proposals ... subsidize renewable energy resources at the expense of Pilgrim and other plants." Entergy also cites "increased operational costs and enhanced Nuclear Regulatory Commission oversight" following a recent NRC decision to give Pilgrim a higher level of scrutiny.
The announcement resembles a 2013 decision by Entergy to close the Vermont Yankee Nuclear Power Station, a plant similar in vintage to Pilgrim Station. Entergy announced Vermont Yankee's closure in 2013; that plant ceased commercial operation at the end of 2014, and Vermont Yankee's decommissioning is now underway. In announcing the Vermont Yankee closure, Entergy pointed to financial factors including a "natural gas market that has undergone a transformational shift in supply due to the impacts of shale gas, resulting in sustained low natural gas prices and wholesale energy prices", high plant cost structures, and wholesale market design flaws.
According to Entergy, it has notified regional electric grid operator ISO New England Inc. of its intent to exit the region's capacity market. Entergy said the exact timing of plant shutdown will be decided in the first half of 2016.
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