The Vermont Yankee decommissioning project will cost an estimated $1.24 billion, up from previous estimates of approximately $1 billion, according to Entergy’s latest site assessment study released late last week. Entergy completed the study as a way to consolidate and begin discussions with the state of Vermont over the history and radiological condition of the site, the description of the decommissioning process, the description of steps required to move spent nuclear fuel to dry, information on the likely cost and schedule of decommissioning, and the timeline for the submittal of decommissioning documents to the Nuclear Regulatory Commission. Entergy has chosen to use the SAFESTOR method of decommissioning, which enables the plant to sit for up to 60 years before major tear-down work begins, but the utility, in an agreement from late last year, assured the state it would only stay in SAFESTOR until the decommissioning trust fund accrued enough interest to cover the cost of work.
According to the site assessment report, the trust fund could reach the necessary level to begin work in the 2040s. “The numerous variables which must be taken into consideration (costs, interest rate/fund growth, NRC rulings, etc.) result in a wide range of outcomes as it relates to when the decontamination and dismantlement phase and site restoration will be complete,” the report said. “For example, cost analyses that include expected recoveries from the Federal Government for its failure to remove VYNPS’ spent nuclear fuel suggest that a much earlier date, potentially as early as the 2040s, is possible for the commencement of dismantling and decontamination activities.” The report also indicated that Entergy will finish the transfer of spent fuel to dry cask storage by late 2020, ahead of initial plans. Entergy will also submit its official Decommissioning Cost Estimate and Post-Shutdown Decommissioning Activities Report to the NRC by the end of this year, most likely in December, the report said.
