One of the four nuclear power plants set to shut down this year moved its last electron last week, setting the decommissioning process in motion.
Indian Point Energy Center’s Unit 3 reactor went dark Friday, according to a press release from Holtec International — the site’s new owner. The Camden, N.J.-based nuclear services company will “begin its decommissioning with immediate effect,” according to the Friday press release.
The Buchanan, N.Y. nuclear plant’s shutdown comes as Holtec and Entergy, the site’s previous owner, reached a settlement agreement with the state of New York and a coalition of other stakeholders over its sale in April. The New York Public Service Commission will debate the proposed settlement — which would see New York drop its suit against the Nuclear Regulatory Commission in the D.C. circuit court of appeals — in a future session, according to an April 15 press release from the office of Gov. Andrew Cuomo (D).
New York’s Jan. 22 lawsuit challenged Holtec’s financial ability to decommission Indian Point. In particular, state attorney general Letitia James took issue with the company’s use of a roughly $2 billion trust fund set aside for the plant’s decommissioning, which NRC allowed Holtec to use for other activities, like spent fuel management and site remediation, via a regulatory exemption.
Meanwhile, three other nuclear plants are slated to shut down this year: Palisades Nuclear Generating Station in Michigan, as well as the Byron and Dresden plants in Illinois.
Indian Point’s Unit 3 was the last of its three reactors to go dark. Unit 2 went offline late last year, and Unit 1 shut down back in 1974. The plant started producing electricity in 1962.
