SUMMERLIN, NEV. — The site of a shuttered New Jersey nuclear power plant could one day host an advanced modular reactor, Holtec International’s regulatory affairs chief said this week at the Decommissioning Strategy Forum.
Holtec is “evaluating” Oyster Creek Nuclear Generating Station to determine whether it’s a suitable site for the company’s SMR-160 modular reactor, vice president of regulatory and environmental affairs Andrea Sterdis said during a Monday panel discussion at the meeting, hosted by the Exchange Monitor.
“There are many advantages we’re looking at with regards to the use of [Oyster Creek] as a potential location for siting an SMR-160,” Sterdis said.
One advantage to using a former plant site like Oyster Creek for an advanced reactor is that there is an existing grid connection that a new reactor could use, Sterdis said. Another plus is that “local and federal regulators understand the permits and regulations” needed for a nuclear reactor to clear an environmental review and get a license, she said.
Holtec selected the Forked River, N.J. nuclear plant as a candidate site for an SMR-160 because it has a “commitment” to the state of New Jersey, Sterdis said Monday. The company has taken away “valuable lessons learned and valuable relationships” from its interactions with local and state governments while decommissioning Oyster Creek, she said. Holtec is based in Camden, N.J.
The company’s timeline for decommissioning and spent fuel management at the site are also earlier than other projects, which helped to facilitate the choice, Sterdis said.
A representative from Lacey Township, N.J. — Oyster Creek’s host community — didn’t return a request for comment by deadline Friday for RadWaste Monitor.
Sterdis told RadWaste Monitor after the panel Monday that Holtec isn’t ready to comment on “a decision or even a schedule for a decision” on the Oyster Creek review. “There’s a lot of work to do, and the assessments and evaluations and communications have to be gone through in a very diligent manner,” she said.
Holtec is currently dismantling Oyster Creek, which it bought from Exelon in 2019. The company has said it could wrap up decommissioning by 2025 or so.
