2019 Top 400 Sourcebook: Holtec Takes Over Decommissioning of Pilgrim Nuclear Plant

Holtec took possession of Pilgrim Nuclear Power Station for decommissioning.

PHOTO COURTESY OF ENTERGY

Deconstruction of buildings and structures outside the controlled area of the 670-MW Pilgrim Nuclear Power Station in Massachusetts began immediately after Holtec International completed acquisition of the plant’s assets on Aug. 26. The plant ceased operating May 31 and site restoration is scheduled for completion in late 2024. The Nuclear Regulatory Commission transferred the plant’s operating license from Entergy Corp. to Holtec subsidiaries, including Holtec Decommissioning International, the decommissioning operator for the $1.13-billion project. A joint venture of Holtec and SNC-Lavalin will complete the demolition and site cleanup. The used nuclear fuel now located in a spent fuel pool will be moved in less than three years to a dry storage system designed by Holtec. Other contaminated parts of the reactor will be dismantled and transferred to high-capacity transport packages. Entergy has agreed to sell two other nuclear plants to Holtec for decommissioning, the two nuclear units totaling 1,060 MW at Indian Point, N.Y., and the single-unit 805-MW Palisades nuclear plant on Lake Michigan. Indian Point units will shut down in 2020 and 2021. Palisades will cease operations in 2022.

Read More: ENR 2019 Top Top 400 Sourcebook PDF (subscription required)

Mary B. Powers has reported on engineering and construction issues in the global energy and environmental sectors for more than 30 years from Washington, D.C. and Birmingham, Ala. She formerly wrote for the Platt's group of energy sector publications under McGraw Hill and S&P Global that included Inside Energy and Megawatt Daily, and was state editor for the Lexington, Ky., Herald Leader. Mary has a master’s degree in journalism from The American University.

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