An international nuclear power services company has confirmed it plans to submit an application to build new generation capacity at a long-closed nuclear power plant in Wisconsin.
EnergySolutions, headquartered in Salt Lake City, Utah, and Charlotte, North Carolina, said it submitted a notice of intent to the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) in mid-January. The notice said the company would apply for a “major licensing action” for new nuclear power generation at the closed Kewaunee nuclear power plant in Wisconsin. The company said various permits and licenses are under evaluation.
Wisconsin lawmakers have been discussing legislation that would provide tax credits for companies looking to build new nuclear power generation in the state.
EnergySolutions in May of last year said it was working with WEC Energy Group, a Milwaukee-based utility, to explore new nuclear generation at the Kewaunee site, located in Carlton in Kewaunee County. EnergySolutions, considered an industry leader in the transportation, processing, recycling, and disposal of radiologic material, has been decommissioning Kewaunee, which closed in 2013. The plant, located about 27 miles southeast of Green Bay on the shore of Lake Michigan, featured a two-loop, 574-MWe pressurized water reactor. Dominion Energy acquired the facility in 2022. Kewaunee came online in 1974 and was closed in May 2013.
EnergySolutions recently said it is carrying out a “structured, multiphase project” that includes initial planning and scoping activities at Kewaunee. The company said it would utilize in-depth studies to demonstrate the site’s suitability for new nuclear construction, which it said is a prerequisite to its development, and to securing NRC approvals for the project. EnergySolutions in its letter of intent to the NRC said the company plans to submit an application by June 2028.
“This is an important milestone in moving toward the next generation of nuclear power in Wisconsin in partnership with WEC Energy Group,” said Ken Robuck, president and CEO of EnergySolutions, in a statement. “We have assembled an experienced team that brings environmental compliance, nuclear licensing, and project management expertise to this project at a time new nuclear generation in Wisconsin is essential.”
EnergySolutions and WEC have not said what type of nuclear reactor technology the companies may install at the site. EnergySolutions in the past has said the company could look at building an integral molten salt reactor at Kewaunee.
Officials said decommissioning of the old Kewaunee plant began its second phase earlier this year, with a timeline of 15 to 18 months to complete that phase. Full decommissioning of the site is expected to continue until at least 2031.
—Darrell Proctor is a senior editor for POWER.
