Decommissioning

Keith Kotimko is the U.S. Decommissioning and Demolition Leader for WSP, a full-service solution provider that offers comprehensive facility decommissioning and demolition services. Kotimko provided POWER with insight into the process of permanently shutting down a power generation facility. He emphasized that decommissioning is a separate activity from demolition.

The retirement of older thermal power generation facilities, driven by a transition to cleaner forms of energy, has increased in recent years as utilities and other power generators mothball plants that are uneconomic or simply no longer needed.

Nuclear power plants are still being dismantled, and the business of decommissioning remains strong, but the need for more baseload power and emissions-free generation has some companies ready to restart idled

With legislative momentum around clean power generation and net-zero emissions policies rapidly building, the U.S. is seeing rapid increases in installed wind and solar capacity each year. At the same time, older generations of renewables are facing a new challenge: obsolescence. The first utility-scale wind and solar projects in the U.S. were developed in the […]

Planning, building, operating, or overhauling power plants has long been an emphasis in the power sector—and an important one, given that the creation of new power capacity plays an outsized role in

WILMINGTON, North Carolina—May 9, 2023—GE Hitachi Nuclear Energy (GEH) today announced its intent to transfer ownership of the 1,600-acre GEH Vallecitos Nuclear Center to NorthStar Group Services, Inc. (“NorthStar”) for nuclear decontamination, decommissioning and environmental site restoration. The proposed transaction is subject to certain reviews and approvals by the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC), the […]

Midwestern utility DTE Energy announced its 225-MW Meridian Wind Park project has entered commercial operation. The group on April 18 said the wind farm, located in Merrill and spanning parts of Midland and Saginaw counties in central Michigan, features 77 turbines and operates on land leased from farmers in the region. A DTE spokesperson said […]

Project in Lithuania could offer important lessons for U.K. power station cleanup DALLAS – A consortium comprising Westinghouse Electric Spain, Jacobs (NYSE:J) and the Lithuanian Energy Institute was selected to plan dismantling and waste management at the Ignalina Nuclear Power Plant (INPP) in Lithuania. Soviet-designed Ignalina could be the first graphite-moderated reactor plant to be […]

There have been historic initiatives within the U.S. to create a sustainable energy economy and to address major environmental concerns created by fossil fuels. The Inflation Reduction Act contains $369 billion in climate and energy provisions, which will have a meaningful impact on climate change. Meanwhile, the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law seeks to remedy environmental issues […]

Industrial demolition projects of any scale are complex undertakings that require much more than just knocking things down and cleaning them up. Quite the opposite, in fact. Demolition, including of a retired

After more than 50 years of operation, the Palisades nuclear power plant was taken offline for the final time on May 20. The station was scheduled to be permanently shut down on May 31, but plant operators “made the conservative decision to shut down the plant early due to the performance of a control rod […]

Framework to tackle environmental challenges at world’s most complex decommissioning site DALLAS – Jacobs (NYSE:J) was selected by Tokyo Electric Power Company Inc. (TEPCO) to support decommissioning of the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant in Japan. Under a five-year framework agreement, Jacobs will draw on deep domain knowledge and decades of experience on major U.S. […]

Holtec is decommissioning the Pilgrim Nuclear Power Station. The company has a fairly aggressive schedule that could see site restoration work completed in 2027. This article provides a current-day status

Cranberry Township, PA (Dec. 16, 2021) – Westinghouse Electric Company announced it has recently completed dismantling the first of two reactor vessels at Bohunice V1 Nuclear Power Plant in Slovakia. The annular water tanks that ensured bio-shield protection of the two reactor pressure vessels have also been dismantled. “As the leader in specialized nuclear decommissioning, […]

Coal-fired power plant decommissioning and remediation work is not typically a utility company’s core business. That’s why having the right partner and implementing a sound plan to ensure both

Environmental Risk Transfer Services Leader to Demolish Existing Power Plant, Remediate Site and Redevelop Property in a Sustainable Manner LOUISVILLE, KY (July 19, 2021) – Charah® Solutions, Inc. (NYSE: CHRA) (“Charah Solutions”), a leading provider of environmental services and byproduct sales to the power generation industry, today announced that it has entered into a binding […]

May 18, 2021 – Framatome today announced the completion of a key milestone in the development of a robotic-assisted handling system to support decommissioning and waste management for the nuclear industry. Testing confirmed the operation of robotic systems for handling and sorting high-dose waste components, paving the way for increasing automation. The Virtual Remote Robotics […]

As the existing electric generation infrastructure matures, electric generation system owners are looking to the future for newer and greener technologies to meet the demands of electric consumption. An important part of this future perspective may include the demolition and removal of older generation plants and facilities to free up land resources for new development.  Prior […]

A consortium led by ARC – the Edinburgh-based risk and safety solutions consultancy – has been selected by Norwegian Radiation and Nuclear Safety Authority (DSA) to support its activities related to nuclear safety and security over the next 2-4 four years. This appointment is further international recognition of ARC’s reputation as one of the leading […]

In the 1940s, the Oak Ridge Gaseous Diffusion Plant was built in unprecedented secrecy as part of the Manhattan Project. Its purpose was to provide enriched uranium for the world’s first atomic bomb, and it expanded operations during the Cold War, producing enriched uranium for defense and commercial purposes. Uranium enrichment operations were halted at […]

All power plants have a finite useful life. Thus, there will come a time at every facility when the unit must be retired and the decommissioning process undertaken. Decisions must be made on who will do the

A German plan to provide coal-fired power plant operators with money to offset financial losses, part of the country’s plan to incentivize the closure of coal plants as part of Germany’s plan to exit the fuel, has led energy giant Vattenfall to say it could close its 1.6-GW Moorburg coal plant in Hamburg by the […]

The Duane Arnold Energy Center (DAEC, Figure 1)—a 615-MW nuclear power plant located in Palo, Iowa—will reportedly not restart after high winds caused extensive damage to the station’s cooling towers. The plant owner, NextEra Energy Resources, had planned to retire the unit on Oct. 30, but after assessing damage caused by an Aug. 10 derecho, […]

Hundreds of coal-fired power plants are now retired or facing retirement in the near future, and utilities face a number of decisions. Are there commercial reuse options for the plant or the site itself? Are

WILMINGTON, North Carolina (December 18, 2019) —GE Hitachi Nuclear Energy (GEH) announced today that it has completed its work supporting the decommissioning of the Oskarshamn Nuclear Power Plant (OKG) in Oskarshamn Municipality in Sweden. GEH recently completed the segmentation of reactor internals at OKG Unit 1. The company’s work at the Oskarshamn site began in […]

WILMINGTON, North Carolina—December 3, 2019—GE Hitachi Nuclear Energy (GEH) announced today that it has been awarded a contract by Comprehensive Decommissioning International, LLC (CDI) to decommission the reactor internals and reactor pressure vessel at the Pilgrim Nuclear Power Station in Plymouth, Massachusetts. Employing cutting-edge technology, GEH will dismantle, segment and pack reactor internals and the […]

SALT LAKE CITY, Oct. 15, 2019 — EnergySolutions, Inc. has signed a contract with FirstEnergy Corp. subsidiaries GPU Nuclear, Inc., Metropolitan Edison Company, Jersey Central Power & Light Company, and Pennsylvania Electric Company to acquire all licenses and assets of Unit-2 at the Three Mile Island Nuclear Generating Station (TMI-2) located near Middletown, Pennsylvania. Under […]

Retiring and decommissioning coal power plants is becoming a more-frequent occurrence around the world. The job comes with many challenges, but projects in the U.S. and UK have proven that remediation and

Economic pressures coupled with new and proposed regulations to reduce air emissions and regulate cooling water use and the management and disposal of coal combustion residuals (CCRs) continue to drive the

CHARLOTTE, N.C., July 23, 2019 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — EnergySolutions, Inc. announced today it has signed a term sheet with GPU Nuclear, a subsidiary of FirstEnergy, to negotiate the asset transfer of Unit-2 of the Three Mile Island Nuclear Generating Station (TMI-2) located near Middletown, Pennsylvania.  Unit-2 has been in a safe and stable storage condition […]