Vermont Yankee Buyer Says Success Here Could Mean Big Business Elsewhere
Spent fuel at Vermont Yankee is stored in these casks. NorthStar, the company that wants to buy the closed plant, recently boosted its financial plan to pay for fuel storage. Photo courtesy of Vermont Yankee
Why would anyone want to buy a closed nuclear power plant, along with its long legacy of radioactive waste?
NorthStar Group Services, the company that wants to buy the closed Vermont Yankee nuclear power plant, says it’s because success in Vermont could lead to similar work at other shuttered nuclear plants.
The company recently promised regulators it will have more money available to safely manage radioactive fuel and swiftly decommission the plant ahead of schedule.
Commercial nuclear plant decommissioning is a new field for NorthStar.
Neil Sheehan, spokesman for the Nuclear Regulatory Commission, has an insider’s perspective on why NorthStar is getting into the business.
“Well, obviously there are a number of companies that are interested in this field because it’s the only growth area in nuclear power right now,” Sheehan said.
The NRC is now reviewing NorthStar’s proposal to buy Vermont Yankee and decommission the plant.
Sheehan said a big part of NorthStar’s job is to convince regulators it has the technical expertise and the financial wherewithal to do the job even without much of a track record.
“They have not explicitly focused on commercial nuclear power plant decommissioning in the past,” Sheehan said. “This is a new animal for us, which is why we’re taking so much time to get this right.”