In the latest volley of corporate sparring over the sale of a Wisconsin nuclear plant, the decommissioning company purchasing the site has asked the state public works commission to ignore comments made by the head of another company that’s trying to muscle in on the transaction, according to recent documents.
The Wisconsin Public Service Commission (WPSC) shouldn’t account for testimony filed by NorthStar CEO Scott State as it reviews the sale of Kewaunee Power Station, EnergySolutions argued in a Monday filing with the panel. State’s Feb. 8 testimony is “immaterial, irrelevant, and lacks foundation,” the company argued.
EnergySolutions is currently seeking WPSC’s blessing to purchase Kewaunee, in Carlton, Wisc., from Dominion Energy. Although the two companies agreed to the terms of sale in May 2021, WPSC must approve the transaction.
In his testimony, State said that the decision to allow EnergySolutions to purchase Kewaunee “did not arise from any kind of competitive process,” and that if it had, things could have turned out differently. “[I]n any place where NorthStar has been allowed to compete with EnergySolutions, EnergySolutions has not been chosen for the project, other than Three Mile Island [Unit] 2,” State said.
NorthStar, which was allowed to intervene in the WPSC proceedings in September, has said that it could decommission Kewaunee for around $500 million, a lower price point than EnergySolutions’ projected $724 million for the job.
State also said that NorthStar has offered the plant’s previous joint operators, the Wisconsin Public Service Corporation and Wisconsin Power and Light (WPL), $25 million for their ‘right of first refusal’ agreement — a contract that would allow the company to step in on EnergySolutions’ transaction with Dominion.
If it secured the right of first refusal, NorthStar would alter the terms of the transaction to reduce the overall cost of the project by around $200 million and “provide added financial assurance to make sure Wisconsin ratepayers do not bear the risk of performance on the project,” State said.
In its Monday filing, EnergySolutions argued that Kewaunee’s previous owners “waived” their right of first refusal and that “there is no basis for asserting that the utilities can be compelled” to give the right to NorthStar.
In a testimony given to WPSC, Jeffrey Ripp, regulatory strategy director for WPL parent company Alliant Energy, said that the agreement “does not contain any provisions allowing it to be transferred to a third-party.” WPL did not think it would be “reasonable or prudent” to allow NorthStar to acquire the right of first refusal, Ripp said.
NorthStar didn’t return a request for comment by deadline Friday on why it believed it could acquire Kewaunee’s right of first refusal agreement.
As the legal mud-slinging continues, WPSC is scheduled next week to hold a public hearing on Kewaunee’s sale March 2. The commission will also accept stakeholder comments March 3.
Meanwhile, the Nuclear Regulatory Commission is also reviewing the plant’ sale. The agency accepted comments on the proposed license transfer until Nov. 12. As of Tuesday, NRC had yet to make a final decision on the transaction.
If EnergySolutions manages to secure Kewaunee’s license, it would have a total of four decommissioning projects under its belt. The Salt Lake City-based company is currently dismantling Three Mile Island Unit 2 in Pennsylvania, the San Onofre Nuclear Generating Station in California and Nebraska’s Fort Calhoun plant.
