The Nuclear Regulatory Commission is cautious about meeting the hoped-for schedule to issue a decision on the license transfer application for the Pilgrim Nuclear Power Station in Massachusetts.
The single-reactor facility on Cape Cod is scheduled for closure by June 1 of next year.
New Orleans-based owner Entergy plans to sell the plant to New Jersey energy technology firm Holtec, which would assume full responsibility for decommissioning, site restoration, and spent fuel management. The companies filed their license transfer application on Nov. 16 and have asked for an NRC ruling by next May.
A license transfer proceeding generally takes roughly one year, NRC spokesman Neil Sheehan said by email. A similar license transfer application for the retired Vermont Yankee nuclear power plant, from Entergy to NorthStar Group Services, was filed in February 2017 and approved in early October of this year.
“During a recent pre-submittal meeting, we informed the firms that while the NRC staff will endeavor to complete its review in the requested timeframe, that will depend upon several factors, including the amount of time it takes them to respond to our requests for additional information on the application; any unanticipated addition of scope to the review; and reviews by NRC advisory committees or hearing-related activities,” Sheehan wrote.
Holtec hopes to close the deal by the end of 2019 and believes it can complete dismantlement, decontamination, and environmental remediation at the Pilgrim property by 2027. It would presumably keep some portion of the decommissioning trust fund once the work is complete. The trust held just over $1 billion at the end of October.
Spent fuel pad operations would continue to 2062, followed by license termination in 2062, under the Holtec plan.
