CDI Finalizes Contracts For Decommissioning Two U.S. Nuclear Power Plants

(RTTNews) - Comprehensive Decommissioning International, LLC or CDI, a joint company of SNC-Lavalin Group (SNC.TO) and privately-held Holtec International, said it is finalizing specific contract details with Holtec Decommissioning International, Inc. to enter into two discrete multi-year nuclear decommissioning contracts, each worth hundreds of millions of dollars.

This follows purchase and sale agreements or PSAs that Holtec International has signed with Entergy Corp. (ETR) to acquire the Entergy subsidiary that owns the Pilgrim Nuclear Power Station located in Plymouth, Massachusetts, and the Entergy subsidiary that owns the Palisades Power Plant located in Covert, Michigan.

The PSA and license transfers are subject to approval by the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission or NRC. The PSAs signed by Holtec and Entergy allows for the sale of each Entergy subsidiary to Holtec after plant closures and satisfaction of other closing conditions.

Subject to finalizing the terms of decommissioning contracts, CDI will be responsible for decommissioning the plants, beginning with Pilgrim in 2020. This will include the demolition and cleanup of the two plants and sites.

CDI noted that Pilgrim's accelerated decommissioning by it is expected to be completed within eight years.

CDI was formed earlier this year with the goal of performing accelerated decommissioning of retired nuclear power plants using innovative technologies to cut the total time elapsed to release plant sites for unrestricted use to eight years or fewer.

Entergy had previously announced its intention to retire Pilgrim by June 1, 2019 and Palisades in the spring of 2022.