BUCHANAN, N.Y., Nov. 22, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- Entergy
Corporation and Holtec International, through their affiliates,
jointly filed a License Transfer Application today with the U.S.
Nuclear Regulatory Commission, requesting approval for the transfer
of the NRC licenses for the Indian Point Energy Center to Holtec
after the last unit permanently shuts down by April 30, 2021. Holtec plans to initiate
decommissioning at Indian Point, following regulatory approvals and
transaction close, as much as 40 years sooner than if Entergy
continued to own the units.
"Holtec's plan to accelerate the decommissioning schedule
provides the potential for site redevelopment decades sooner than
if Entergy continued to own the facility, which is good news for
the local community," said Chris
Bakken, Entergy Executive Vice President Nuclear
Operations and Chief Nuclear Officer. "Holtec plans to begin the
decommissioning process promptly upon taking ownership, and as part
of the agreement between the companies, will provide job
opportunities for more than 300 of our current employees who want
to remain in the region and continue to work at the site."
The companies asked the NRC to approve the License Transfer
Application by November 2020 to
facilitate a timely transaction closing targeted for May 2021, which will benefit the community,
employees and other interested stakeholders.
"This key regulatory filing is an important first step to
beginning a new future for Indian Point and the local community,"
said Holtec's President and Chief Executive Officer Dr.
Kris Singh. "By beginning
decommissioning earlier, Holtec will be able to maintain and create
new jobs and work towards releasing the plant site earlier so it
can be repurposed and generate replacement tax revenue on an
earlier schedule."
The NRC previously approved applications to transfer the
licenses for the shut down Oyster Creek Nuclear Generating Station
(New Jersey) from Exelon
Generation to Holtec and for the shut down Pilgrim Nuclear Power
Station (Massachusetts) from
Entergy to Holtec for decommissioning.
In addition to the federal filing, the companies today filed a
petition with the New York Public Service Commission requesting a
ruling disclaiming PSC jurisdiction or abstaining from review of
the proposed transaction, or, in the alternative, an order
approving the proposed transaction.
Holtec International is a global leader in used nuclear fuel
management, with more than 100 nuclear plants relying on its
nuclear fuel storage technology design and implementation. Holtec
has contracted with Comprehensive Decommissioning International,
LLC to perform the decommissioning, including demolition and site
cleanup, at Oyster Creek, Pilgrim, and Indian Point. CDI is a joint
venture company of Holtec International and SNC-Lavalin. The
decommissioning experience held by Holtec and SNC-Lavalin gives CDI
more than half a century of managing complex nuclear projects in
the commercial and government sectors worldwide.
Holtec's plan for decommissioning will result in the release for
re-use of portions of the site in the 2030s, with the exception of
the Independent Spent Fuel Storage Installation – the area where
spent nuclear fuel is safely stored in dry casks until the U.S.
Department of Energy transfers the spent fuel offsite. As part of
its plan, 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 a pending 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.
Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-Looking Statements
In this news release, and from time to time, Entergy Corporation
makes certain "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of
the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Such
forward-looking statements include, among other things, Entergy's
plans and expectations with respect to the Indian Point Energy
Center, the proposed post-shutdown sale of the Indian Point Energy
Center, and other statements of Entergy's plans, beliefs or
expectations included in this news release. Except to the
extent required by the federal securities laws, Entergy undertakes
no obligation to publicly update or revise any forward-looking
statements, whether as a result of new information, future events,
or otherwise.
Forward-looking statements are subject to a number of risks,
uncertainties and other factors that could cause actual results to
differ materially from those expressed or implied in such
forward-looking statements, including (a) those factors discussed
elsewhere in this news release and in Entergy's most recent Annual
Report on Form 10-K, any subsequent Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q
and Entergy's other reports and filings made under the Securities
Exchange Act of 1934; (b) uncertainties associated with (1) rate
proceedings, formula rate plans and other cost recovery mechanisms,
including the risk that costs may not be recoverable to the extent
anticipated by the utilities and (2) implementation of the
ratemaking effects of changes in law; (c) uncertainties associated
with efforts to remediate the effects of major storms and recover
related restoration costs; (d) risks associated with operating
nuclear facilities, including plant relicensing, operating and
regulatory costs and risks; (e) changes in decommissioning trust
fund values or earnings or in the timing or cost of decommissioning
Entergy's nuclear plant sites; (f) legislative and regulatory
actions and risks and uncertainties associated with claims or
litigation by or against Entergy and its subsidiaries; (g) risks
and uncertainties associated with strategic transactions that
Entergy or its subsidiaries may undertake, including the risk that
any such transaction may not be completed as and when expected and
the risk that the anticipated benefits of the transaction may not
be realized; (h) effects of changes in federal, state or local laws
and regulations and other governmental actions or policies,
including changes in monetary, fiscal, tax, environmental or energy
policies; and (i) the effects of technological changes and changes
in commodity markets, capital markets or economic conditions; and
(j) impacts from a terrorist attack, cybersecurity threats, data
security breaches or other attempts to disrupt Entergy's business
or operations, and other catastrophic events.
Background Information
Entergy Corporation (NYSE: ETR) is an integrated energy company
engaged primarily in electric power production and retail
distribution operations. Entergy owns and operates power plants
with approximately 30,000 megawatts of electric generating
capacity, including 9,000 megawatts of nuclear power. Entergy
delivers electricity to 2.9 million utility customers in
Arkansas, Louisiana, Mississippi, and Texas. Entergy has annual revenues of
$11 billion and approximately 13,500
employees. Additional information is available at entergy.com.
Holtec International is a privately held energy technology
company with operation centers in Florida, New
Jersey, Ohio, and
Pennsylvania in the U.S., and
globally in Brazil, Dubai, India,
South Africa, Spain, U.K., and Ukraine. Holtec's principal business
concentration is in the nuclear power industry. Holtec has played a
preeminent role since the 1980s by densifying wet storage in
nuclear plants' spent fuel pools deferring the need for and expense
of alternative measures by as much as two decades at over 110
reactor units in the U.S. and abroad. Dry storage and transport of
nuclear fuel is another area in which Holtec is recognized as the
foremost innovator and industry leader with a dominant market share
and an active market presence in eighteen countries. Among the
Company's pioneering endeavors are the world's first below-ground
Consolidated Interim Storage Facility being developed in
New Mexico and a 160-Megawatt
walk away safe small modular reactor, SMR-160. The SMR-160
is developed to bring cost competitive carbon-free energy to all
corners of the earth including water-challenged regions. Holtec is
also a major supplier of special-purpose pressure vessels and
critical-service heat exchange equipment such as air-cooled
condensers, steam generators, feedwater heaters, and water-cooled
condensers. Virtually all products produced by the Company are
built in its three large manufacturing plants in the U.S. and one
in India. Thanks to a solid record
of consistent profitability and steady growth since its founding in
1986, Holtec has no history of any long-term debt and enjoys a
platinum credit rating from the financial markets. Nearly 100
U.S. and international patents protect the Company's intellectual
property from predation by its global competitors and lend
predictable stability to its business base. To learn more about
Holtec International, please visit www.holtecinternational.com.
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SOURCE Entergy Corporation