Jeremy L. Dillon
RW Monitor
7/11/2014
The New Jersey Economic Development Authority approved a plan this week that would give a $260 million tax credit over 10 years to Holtec International to locate some of its operations in Camden, N.J. The plan calls for the construction of a 600,000 square foot manufacturing facility and design center, located on the Camden waterfront, while bringing in 395 jobs to Camden. “We look upon this support from the State of New Jersey as a great opportunity to make Camden a prominent industrial center in the Northeast—as its geographical location warrants,” Holtec Vice President of Corporate Business Development Joy Russell said in a statement. “We believe it is important for us and others to concentrate on creating well-paying manufacturing jobs in the United States. This State Grant will enable us to carry out our social mission to stimulate our economy and create jobs.” Holtec still needs to review the state’s grant package for final acceptance, a step that should be taken by the end of this week, Russell said.
Holtec had been looking to expand its operations; the company already has two U.S. corporate bases—one in Marlton, N.J., a 20 minute drive from Camden, and another in Jupiter, Fla. The company looked in Charleston, S.C. to site a potential new facility, but New Jersey offered a better incentive. Building a facility without the tax credits would have cost more in New Jersey, and Holtec executives had indicated to the NJEDA that it would only build with the grant. Under the terms of the grant, Holtec has 12 months from approval to submit progress information indicating that the business has site plan approval, committed financing for, and site control of the qualified business facility.
Holtec Offers High Burnup Fuel Cask Technology
Holtec also this week announced that it would share its drying technology for high burnup fuel under an “appropriate license” with any dry storage facility owner interested in using the technology. Holtec developed its low-stress producing Forced Helium Dehydration technology back in 2002, but with the growing attention to high burnup fuel storage recently, the company is willing to offer it other dry storage facility operators. “As the challenges of long-term used fuel management continue to grow, it is important that we help our industry deal with this important technical issue in the best manner possible,” Holtec’s CNO Pierre Oneid said in a statement. “Therefore, we offer to share our patented technology with all reactor operators who need to place high burnup fuel in dry storage under an appropriate licensing agreement. Our HI-STORM customers, in the U.S. and abroad, have already, by and large, made the transition to FHD.”
