nuclear-news

$2 billion to shut down Quebec’s nuclear plant, but $4 billion to keep it open

The Parti Quebecois  also announced it will set aside another $200 million in a
“diversification fund” to help the surrounding communities retrain
their workforces and spur alternative development opportunities.

Shutdown of Que. nuclear plant to cost $2B, Ifp
QMI Agency
December 28, 2012 MONTREAL – The licence for Quebec’s only
operational nuclear power plant expired Friday, and the provincial
government said it will spend hundreds of millions of dollars over the
next 50 years to dismantle the reactor.

The Parti Quebecois campaigned against refurbishing the plant,
claiming that the $4-billion price tag was financially unjustifiable,
to the dismay of local leaders who decried the looming loss of jobs.
Days after winning the Sept. 4 election, the PQ announced it would
spend $1.8 billion over 50 years to shut the nuclear reactor down for
good.

The PQ also announced it will set aside another $200 million in a
“diversification fund” to help the surrounding communities retrain
their workforces and spur alternative development opportunities.

The plant, in operation since 1983, is located on the shore of the St.
Lawrence River in Becancour, Que., halfway between Montreal and Quebec
City.

Hydro-Quebec, the province’s hydro utility and operator of the
reactor, will begin in the next few weeks the 18-month first phase of
the dismantling process. Phase one includes defueling the reactor,
treating heavy water and deactivating several systems, according to
Hydro-Quebec. It also includes cutting the plant’s workforce from 736
to 485 people.

Phase two involves leaving the plant dormant for 40 years, then
removing the spent fuel and dismantling the site.

Hydro-Quebec estimates that the site will be fully restored by 2062…
http://www.lfpress.com/2012/12/28/shutdown-of-que-nuclear-plant-to-cost-2b

December 29, 2012 - Posted by Christina Macpherson | Canada, decommission reactor, Reference