Vermont Business Magazine Under the proposed plan, the Vermont Yankee nuclear power plant will be decommissioned through the SAFSTOR alternative at a total cost of $1.2 billion and will be completed in 2075. Employment, which generally ran about 600 workers through its operating cycle, will drop over the next few years to about 125 workers while the plant is put into a dormant state and then employment will stay under 50 workers for the next 40 years until several hundred workers are needed for the final dismantling of the plant starting in 2068. The Nuclear Regulatory Commission is accepting public comments on the report submitted by Vermont Yankee owner Entergy outlining its decommissioning plans for the Vernon plant.
The Post-Shutdown Decommissioning Activities Report, or PSDAR, which includes a Site-Specific Decommissioning Cost Estimate, was filed with the NRC on December 19. Vermont Yankee was permanently shut down on December 29. Comments on the PSDAR should be submitted to the NRC by March 23, 2015.
Comments received subsequent to that date will be considered if practical to do so. Written comments can be submitted to: Cindy Bladey, Office of Administration, Mail Stop: 3WFN-06-A44M, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Washington, D.C. 20555-0001, or via www.regulations.gov using Docket No. 50-271.
The NRC will also discuss the PSDAR and accept comments regarding it at a public meeting planned for Feb. 19 from 6-9 p.m. at the Quality Inn, 1380 Putney Road, in Brattleboro, Vt. A copy of the report can be found on the NRC website More information about the NRC’s decommissioning activities is available on the agency’s website.
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Vermont Yankee goes off-line for last time
Post-Shutdown Decommissioning Activities Report (PSDAR)
Brief History of Vermont Yankee
- Construction Permit Issued: December 11, 1967
- Operating License Issued: March 21, 1972
- Commercial Operation: November 30, 1972
- Initial Operating License Expiration: March 21, 2012
- Renewed Operating License Expiration: March 21, 2032
- Permanent Shutdown: December 29, 2014
The Vermont Yankee Nuclear Power Station'sfinal shutdown occurred at 1:03 pmMonday, December 29, 2014, after 42 years of operation. An NRCResident Inspectorassigned to the Vernon plant was in the control room to observe the permanent cessation of reactor operations. Shereported that the shutdown went smoothly and was not unlike the start of a typical outage for refueling and maintenance activities.
Although Vermont Yankee’s operating license was valid until March 21, 2032, its owner, Entergy, decided last year to close the Vernonplant. Entergy said that despite investments itmade in theplant to maintain its economic viability in the wholesale electricity market – a 20 percent power uprate, operating license renewal and dry fuel storage capability – this permanent shutdown, announced in August 2013, was necessitated by regional wholesale electricity market economics, driven by current low prices and increased natural gas use by electric utilities.