The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission last week received the application to transfer the operating license for the Oyster Creek Generating Station in New Jersey from owner Exelon to prospective buyer Holtec International.
Spokespeople for the NRC and Holtec confirmed the application had been filed and said it should be publicly available this week. No additional information on the matter was released.
The companies announced the planned sale on July 31. Chicago-based power company Exelon plans on Sept. 17 to shut down the single-reactor facility in Lacey Township. With regulatory approval, the sale would be completed in the third quarter of 2019 — though the NRC has said its review of the application could take up to three years.
Camden, N.J., energy technology provider Holtec would then be responsible for decommissioning the plant, which it says it can complete in no more than eight years by subcontracting it to a joint venture with engineering and construction company SNC-Lavalin of Montreal. Exelon had previously intended to place the reactor into SAFSTOR, a decommissioning mode under which final cleanup can be put off for up to 60 years, and to finish the process by the end of 2077.
Holtec on Aug. 1 also announced plans to acquire two nuclear power plants from power company Entergy: the Pilgrim Nuclear Power Station in Plymouth, Mass., which is due to cease operations on May 31, 2019; and the Palisades Power Plant in Covert, Mich., which is scheduled to close in spring 2022. It would also take over responsibility for decommissioning, site restoration, and spent fuel management at those two properties.
The participating companies have not released terms of the sales.
