SNC-Lavalin and Holtec International group have formed a USA-based joint venture company to work on the accelerated decommissioning of retired nuclear power plants. The new company, Comprehensive Decommissioning International (CDI), is headquartered in Camden, New Jersey.
In separate statements yesterday, they said CDI is equipped to cut the total time elapsed to release plant sites for unrestricted use to eight years or fewer, pending local regulatory approvals - except temporary dry storage installation. With an aging nuclear power plant fleet and the rise of lower cost means of energy generation in the United States, decommissioning has become a "rapid growth market" with a forecast value exceeding USD14 billion over the next ten years, they added.
Pierre Oneid, Holtec's senior vice-president and chief nuclear officer, said: "Now is the time to invest and the parent companies are bringing their joint skills, technologies and financial strength together to lead the way in decommissioning and spent fuel storage."
Holtec President and CEO Kris Singh said the joint venture expands their collaboration on Holtec's SMR-160 small modular reactor to the decontamination and decommissioning sector of the nuclear industry. He added: "We will leverage our used fuel storage and transport expertise, now in use by 110 nuclear reactors around the world, to pave the way for what we call prompt decommissioning."
Sandy Taylor, SNC-Lavalin's president for nuclear, said the contributions of the respective companies brings a "complete solution" to reactor decontamination and decommissioning, bringing technology and innovation to fuel management and facilities dismantlement.
CDI is "committed to the enrichment of the communities in which it operates", the companies said.
Researched and writtenby World Nuclear News