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Vermont Yankee nuclear plant teardown ahead of schedule, but removal of the spent fuel is a problem.

By CHRIS LARABEE, Staff Writer, 10/15/2023

VERNON, Vt. — With the reactor building serving as one of the final structures standing, the decommissioning of the former Vermont Yankee nuclear power plant has been progressing steadily with a potential finish date four years ahead of its 2030 deadline.

Amid a teardown of the former turbine building’s foundation one day last week, officials from NorthStar, the company undertaking the $600 million decommissioning project, shared their planned decommissioning timeline of the controversial power plant…………………………………

Entergy, the former owner and operator of the plant, closed the facility in 2014, citing the lack of profitability of Vermont Yankee in the energy economy. The plant began operation in November 1972 and faced decades of scrutiny from anti-nuclear activists. Decades later, Entergy, which purchased the facility for $180 million in 2002, also faced several lawsuits over the final decade of Vermont Yankee’s lifetime……………………………………………………

Removing waste

As of Aug. 31, NorthStar had sent a total of 685 shipments of waste by rail to a storage facility in Texas, amounting to approximately 39,188 tons of material, according to Corey Daniels, senior manager for the spent fuel storage installation for NorthStar…………….

Removing waste

As of Aug. 31, NorthStar had sent a total of 685 shipments of waste by rail to a storage facility in Texas, amounting to approximately 39,188 tons of material, according to Daniels.

While the site is expected to be cleared in just a few years, there is a potential snag.

NorthStar is able to transport “low-level radioactive” materials, such as metal waste, for disposal, but the nuclear fuel that powered the reactor currently remains on the site because a license to an interim Texas storage facility was vacated.

The license was vacated after the Texas state government challenged the facility and the federal Nuclear Regulatory Commission’s authority to grant a permit for an interim waste facility, according to The Brattleboro Reformer.

State added that it is the Nuclear Regulatory Commission’s legal fight and there is the possibility the case could be brought before the U.S. Supreme Court.

In the meantime, State said the spent fuel will remain on the parcel until the federal and various state governments can find a solution. ……………………. https://www.gazettenet.com/Vermont-Yankee-nuclear-plant-teardown-ahead-of-schedule-52630716 #nuclear #antinuclear #NuclearFree #NoNukes #NuclearPlants

October 17, 2023 - Posted by Christina Macpherson | decommission reactor, USA