Nuclear Regulatory Commission approves ownership transfer of Indian Point for decommissioning

The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission approved the transfer of ownership of the Indian Point Energy Center’s nuclear power plant from Entergy Corp. to Holtec International for decommissioning.

The transfer is currently targeted for May 2021, following the permanent shutdown and reactor defueling of Unit 3, which is the last operating power plant at Indian Point, located in Buchanan, N.Y., Units 1 and 2 are permanently shut down; Unit 3 is scheduled to permanently shut down by April 30, 2021.

“The NRC’s approval of the Indian Point license transfer is a critical milestone as we move closer to completing the transaction,” Entergy Chairman and CEO Leo Denault said. “The sale of Indian Point following its permanent shutdown will benefit the community by enabling the facility to be removed, and the site remediated decades sooner than otherwise thought possible. Stakeholders in the community will benefit from a dismantling and decommissioning process that can begin promptly following shutdown next year.”

In its approval, the NRC determined that Holtec has the required technical and financial qualifications to safely decommission Indian Point. The NRC approved two separate transfers of retired nuclear power plants to Holtec for decommissioning – the Oyster Creek nuclear power plant in New Jersey and the Pilgrim nuclear power plant in Massachusetts.

Holtec and its subsidiary, Holtec Decommissioning International, intend to expedite the power plant’s decommissioning and dismantling. The decommissioning process will begin promptly upon Holtec taking ownership. The company will initially provide job opportunities for approximately 300 of Entergy’s current employees at Indian Point.

The decommissioning will result in the availability for re-use of the vast majority of the site in the 2030s, except for the Independent Spent Fuel Storage Installation and its security perimeter – the area where spent nuclear fuel is safely stored in dry casks until the U.S. Department of Energy transfers the spent fuel offsite. Holtec expects to move all of the Indian Point spent nuclear fuel into dry casks within about three years following facility shutdown in 2021. Holtec has an application with the NRC for a Consolidated Interim Storage Facility in New Mexico, which could eventually store spent nuclear fuel from Indian Point and other U.S. nuclear power plants.