Nuclear Regulatory Commission approves Pilgrim license transfer

The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission recently approved the application to transfer the licenses for the Pilgrim Nuclear Power Station from Entergy Corporation to a Holtec International subsidiary for decommissioning.

Entergy, Holtec International and Holtec Decommissioning International (HDI) jointly filed a License Transfer Application with the NRC in November 2018 and requested approval to transfer Pilgrim, along with its Nuclear Decommissioning Trust (NDT) and decommissioning liability, to Holtec.

The license transfer includes the dry cask spent fuel storage installation at Pilgrim.

“The sale of Pilgrim is another important milestone in Entergy’s exit from merchant power markets, with previously announced signed agreements for the sale of Indian Point and Palisades following shutdowns in 2021 and 2022, respectively,” Entergy Chairman and CEO Leo Denault said. “We thank all of our employees at Pilgrim for their dedication and service over many decades, and we wish the best to all of those who are transitioning to work on decommissioning the Pilgrim nuclear facility. Community stakeholders and transitioning employees will benefit from a facility that is promptly dismantled and decommissioned safely.”

Holtec has said it plans to expedite decommissioning and dismantling of the plant once the purchase is finalized.

Once the transaction between Entergy, Holtec, and HDI is successfully completed, the NRC will issue a license amendment reflecting completion of the transfer.

Pilgrim is a boiling water reactor located in Plymouth, Mass. It currently employs approximately 230 people. The plant began generating electricity in 1972 and permanently shut down on May 31.