nuclear-news

Fort Calhoun nuclear plant to be run by private company

Private firm to run nuclear plant Omaha.com By Erin Golden, 16 Aug 12,    BLAIR, Neb. — The Omaha Public Power District is planning to turn over control of Fort Calhoun Nuclear Station to a private company — a move the district’s board says is essential if the plant is to reopen.

In a meeting Thursday night at Blair City Hall, the board voted unanimously to allow OPPD officials to negotiate a 20-year contract with Exelon Corp. for day-to-day operations of the troubled plant, which is about 20 miles north of Omaha.

The plant’s reactor has been shut down since April 2011 because of concerns over Missouri River flooding and a series of safety violations. The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, which is overseeing the facility, has not set a restart date for Fort Calhoun.

One board member, John Green, said it has become clear that the NRC
was interested in outside management of the facility. “I’ve been convinced over the last few months … that we weren’t going to be able to open the plant without doing this,” Green said.

Gary Gates, the utility’s CEO, said the district has been considering looking to an outside company for some time and has been negotiating with Exelon for a month….. An NRC spokesman declined to comment….. http://www.omaha.com/article/20120817/NEWS/708179925/1685

August 17, 2012 - Posted by Christina Macpherson | business and costs, USA