The Nuclear Regulatory Commission on Monday should give decommissioning company Holtec International the go-ahead to buy two Michigan nuclear power plants, according to a recent notice from the agency.
In a Dec. 3 letter to the commissioners, the agency said NRC staff should issue an order Monday approving the sale of Palisades Nuclear Generating Station and Big Rock Point Nuclear Power Plant to Holtec from Entergy.
The license transfer for the Covert, Mich., and Charlevoix, Mich., nuclear plants includes their operating licenses as well as the rights to their onsite spent fuel storage facilities.
If NRC approves the transaction Monday it will keep things on schedule for Holtec — a company executive said Nov. 1 that the agency was expected to give its blessing by January. Holtec aims to finalize its transaction with Entergy by June of next year.
Holtec and Entergy applied with NRC for the Palisades and Big Rock license transfers in December 2020. The companies agreed to the sale in 2018. If the agency gives Holtec the green light, the company has said that it would start dismantling the Palisades plant, which is slated for shutdown early next year, by 2025. Decommissioning should be done by 2041 or so, the company has said.
