New Jersey Company Wants To Buy Oyster Creek Nuclear Plant

FORKED RIVER, NJ - A Camden-based company wants to buy the Oyster Creek Nuclear plant and take over the decommissioning process.

Holtec International and Exelon, Oyster Creek's owner, announced the purchase agreement today, a move they say will speed up the decades-long decommissioning of the oldest nuclear plant in the United States.

The sale is "good news" for Lacey and New Jersey, said Bryan Hanson, Exelon Generation’s chief nuclear officer.

“Holtec’s commitment to the nuclear industry and its presence in New Jersey will allow many of our employees previously facing relocation to continue living and working in the Garden State," Hanson said. "Further, with three decades of experience in nuclear fuel technologies and a partnership with global decommissioning leader SNC-Lavalin, Holtec is ideally positioned to complete the decommissioning of Oyster Creek safely and swiftly.”

Holtec will own all Oyster Creek properties, including the spent nuclear fuel, and will take over all of the plant's decommissioning and restoration activities, according to joint release issued by both companies on Wednesday.

Exelon will not make the sale price public, spokesperson Suzanne D'ambrosio said.

Details of this transaction, including the sale price, are confidential and are not suitable for release at this time," she said.

The purchase would take place in the third quarter of 2019, pending the approval of the federal Nuclear Regulatory Commission and other other agencies.

NRC spokesman Neil Sheehan said the two companies need to apply to the NRC to transfer Oyster Creek's license before any sale could take place.

"We would review the proposal to ensure the new owner had the technical and financial capabilities to safely decommission the plant and to appropriately manage the spent nuclear fuel until such time that there is a permanent or interim repository able to receive it," Sheehan said.

The plan would also need approvals from other agencies, such as the state Board of Public Utilities, he said.

"We would have nothing to say about the specifics of the proposal until we’ve had an opportunity to review the license transfer application," Sheehan said.

Dr. Kris Singh, Holtec President and CEO, said Holtec wants to offer job opportunities with the company to Oyster Creek based employees.

Holtec will contract with Comprehensive Decommissioning International, LLC (CDI) to perform the decontamination and decommissioning of the plant. CDI is a joint venture company of Holtec and SNC-Lavalin based in Camden.

Singh claims that CDI can complete the decommissioning process much faster than Exelon.

"With its experience and state-of-the-art technologies, CDI is well equipped to decommission Oyster Creek within eight years, more than 50 years ahead of the industry-allowed 60-year timeline.," he said.

Holtec will submit a new Oyster Creek decommissioning plan, which must be reviewed and approved by the NRC. The public will have opportunities to review and comment on the plan durin the NRC's evaluation process, Singh said.

The funds from the site’s decommissioning trust will be transferred to Holtec upon closing and will be used by Holtec to cover the cost of the decommissioning. The trust fund was established decades ago to pay for decommissioning, and no additional funds from utility customers will be required.

In February 2018, Exelon Generation announced Oyster Creek will permanently shut down this fall at the end of its current operating cycle. Exelon Generation is required to close Oyster Creek no later than December 2019 as part of an agreement with the State of New Jersey.

Photo: Patricia A. Miller

This is a developing story. Patch will update when more information is available.