We are pleased to announce that the US Small Business Administration has approved the Mentor-Protégé Application between Gilmartin Engineering Works, Inc. (Protégé) and Holtec International (Mentor) under All Small Mentor-Protégé Program (ASMPP).
News & Videos
U.S. Secretary of Energy Rick Perry Visits Holtec International’s KPS Technology Campus, Lauds Company’s Nuclear Program
Energy Secretary Rick Perry toured Holtec’s Advanced Manufacturing Division and Operations Center at the Company’s Krishna P. Singh (KPS) Technology Campus in Camden, New Jersey on October 25, 2018.
Response to Article: “If Radical Innovation Makes Nuclear Power Expensive, Why Do We Think It Will Make Nuclear Cheap”
Forbes Magazine
499 Washington Blvd
Jersey City, NJ 07310
Dear Sir:
In a well-sourced article entitled “If Radical Innovation Makes Nuclear Power Expensive, Why Do We Think It Will Make Nuclear Cheap,” Mr. Michael Shellenberger posits the thesis that the nuclear industry’s attempts to innovate are responsible for its present travails. I submit that his narrative of nuclear energy’s ascent and decline, while based on factually accurate strands of logic, leads to a conclusion that does not do justice to the range of issues that afflict the industry.The underlying reasons for the industry’s problems are far too complex.
The author cites the innovations introduced by Westinghouse in its AP-1000 reactor to be behind its spiraling cost. This is only partially true; the major cause is the new regulatory regimen known as 10CFR52 adopted by the government which, while well intentioned, has failed to streamline the nuclear plant regulation process in practice. Much of the delay in completing the AP-1000 plants can be attributed to the untested “Part 52” regulations. Imperfect innovations, to the extent they have played a part, can be traced to the erosion of practical know-how which occurred because of nearly three decades of hibernation that the industry suffered in the wake of TMI and Chernobyl.
On a more fundamental level, the safety regulation of nuclear power plants has been on national level with each country’s regulator reigning as its uncontested sovereign. There is no global regulator like there is the International Court of Justice in The Hague. This is peculiar for an industry where a mishap in for instance, Chernobyl, affected millions of citizens in far-away countries in central and Western Europe. This fragmentation of regulatory control has led to uneven regulations and their enforcement. Thus, while the AP-1000s in China are smartly coming on line, the ones in the United States lumber along.
A pernicious offshoot of the uncertainty in regulations is the “cost plus” culture for building nuclear power plants. It is not hard to deduce that “cost plus” contracts dampen the drive for, yes, innovations! Contrast the paucity of robots in the nuclear plant construction industry to the automotive manufacturing industry which is swimming in robots.
There are many drivers behind the nuclear industry’s present difficulties but the quest to innovate is not one of them. Our company, unconstrained by the quarterly report pressure of Wall Street, has invested hundreds of millions of dollars in a new innovative 160 MW reactor we call SMR- 160. Our reactor is brimming with innovations with unconditional safety as its core mission. Our belief in success through innovation is so firm that we are soldiering on without a dime of funding from any government. We are among the small coterie of entrepreneurial companies who believe that creative ideas and innovations tempered with lessons learned from seven decades of nuclear plant operations will deliver bounteous amounts of competitively priced carbon-free energy to a world desperately in need of it.
Very truly yours,
Dr. Kris P. Singh, President & CEO
Holtec and Eos Team up to Provide Cost Competitive Energy Storage Systems World Wide
The rise of renewable energy generation, such as solar and wind, has introduced increasing oscillation in power output delivered to the electric grid. Storing electrical energy on an industrial scale to stabilize the transmission grid and to minimize wheeling of power over long distances is increasingly a critical imperative for the world’s energy infrastructure. Holtec International (Holtec) and Eos Energy Storage (Eos) based in Edison, NJ are poised to address this challenge using the revolutionary Eos Aurora® battery system powered by Eos’ proprietary Znyth® technology which is the centerpiece of the Alliance Agreement signed by Holtec and Eos. Under the Agreement, Holtec owns a significant equity stake in Eos and will establish a production facility in Camden, NJ, to manufacture the “batteries” in a state-of-the-art assembly line.
All of Vermont Yankee’s Used Fuel Placed In Dry Storage
We are pleased to announce the successful completion of the largest defueling project of a BWR plant in the U.S. – a project that was completed in record time. Entergy Nuclear signed a contract with Holtec to expeditiously defuel the Vermont Yankee (VY) spent fuel pool. The overall project scope included construction of a second ISFSI pad, security expansion, engineering, licensing, manufacturing, delivery and loading of 45 HI-STORM cask systems, all on a turnkey basis.
Holtec International to Acquire Pilgrim and Palisades Sites from Entergy after their Reactors Shutdown: Proto-Prompt Decommissioning Planned for Both Sites
As reported in the media, Entergy Corp. (NYSE: ETR) has agreed to sell the subsidiaries that own the Pilgrim Nuclear Power Station in Plymouth, Massachusetts, and the Palisades Power Plant in Covert, Michigan, after their shutdowns and reactor defuelings, to a Holtec International subsidiary for accelerated decommissioning. The sales include the transfer of the licenses, spent fuel, and Nuclear Decommissioning Trusts (NDTs), as well as the site of the decommissioned Big Rock Point Nuclear Power Plant near Charlevoix, Michigan, where only the Independent Spent Fuel Storage Installation (ISFSI) remains. The transactions are subject to conditions to closing, including approvals from the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) of the license transfers.
Holtec International to Purchase Oyster Creek Generating Station and Decommission Nuclear Plant Within Eight Years
Exelon Generation, the owner of the nation’s largest fleet of nuclear energy facilities, and Holtec International, a global leader in used nuclear fuel management technologies, today announced an agreement for Holtec to purchase Oyster Creek Generating Station.
Comanche Peak and Holtec Ink a long-term contract for the supply of dry storage systems and associated services
On February 22nd, 2018 Holtec International formalized a multi-year agreement for the supply of HI-STORM dry storage systems and pool-to-pad loading services with Comanche Peak Nuclear Power Plant (CPNPP). The long-term agreement vests soup-to-nuts responsibility with Holtec for the plant’s spent fuel management through year 2033.
Holtec International and SNC-Lavalin Form US-Based JV to Pursue Nuclear Reactor Decommissioning Work in the US
Holtec International and SNC-Lavalin (TSX: SNC) group are pleased to announce a new US-based joint venture company named Comprehensive Decommissioning International, LLC (CDI). The Company, headquartered in Camden, New Jersey, has been established to bring the expertise of both companies together to ensure safe, rapid, and economic decommissioning of shuttered nuclear plants.
Holtec International’s Camden Campus Wins Project Achievement Awards
We are pleased to announce that the Krishna P. Singh Technology Campus in Camden, NJ has been selected to receive several awards for its quality, complexity and swiftness of construction, including the LEED Honor and the CMAA Project Achievement Award. The Krishna P. Singh Technology Campus is a 50-acre state-of-the-art campus, which features a 7-story engineering office building, a heavy manufacturing plant, and a light manufacturing plant. These manufacturing plants bring Holtec’s total manufacturing floor space to nearly 1.5 million square feet.
