Salt Lake City, Utah-based EnergySolutions, Inc. said last week it had signed a contract with the Omaha Public Power District (OPPD) to decommission the Fort Calhoun Nuclear Generating Station.
The plant, owned by the Omaha Public Power District, operated for forty-three years and officially shut down October 24, 2016. It is located on 660 acres between Fort Calhoun and Blair, Nebraska adjacent to the Missouri River.
Construction of the single combustion pressurized water reactor (Fort Calhoun) began in 1966 and operations commenced August 9, 1973. The plant generated 484 megawatts of electricity and was the smallest rated capacity among all operating commercial nuclear power reactors in North America. It was shut down due to economic pressure, as the energy market has been undermined by a glut of natural gas brought about by increased hydro-fracking.
Omaha Public Power District has announced it would opt for the Safestor option for decommissioning, which postpones dismantling the power plant for 60 years so that radioactive decay can run its course naturally. The final cost of decommissioning has been estimated at $1.2 billion, Nuclear Engineering International said.
“We appreciate the confidence OPPD has in EnergySolutions to work with the Fort Calhoun workforce to safely decommission the facility,” stated Ken Robuck, President and CEO of EnergySolutions. “We are confident this partnership will have tremendous success in safely decommissioning the facility on budget and schedule.”
EnergySolutions recently completed the decommissioning of the SEFOR test reactor located outside Fayetteville, Arkansas and will finalize decommissioning projects of two other nuclear power plants located in Wisconsin and Illinois later this year.
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