by F-line to Dudley via Park
BostonUrbEx wrote:They already applied last year to extend their operating license to 2050, but it's very doubtful that'll get granted now and certainly not granted this far in advance of its expiration date. The NRC's got its hands full with Vermont Yankee, Pilgrim in Plymouth, MA, and the controversial India Point plant near NYC are all 1-2 years away from shutdown if their license extensions--stiffly opposed locally--aren't renewed. If those three shut down as expected, Seabrook and Millstone in CT will be the last 2 nukes east of the Susquehana River, north of the Jersey coast, and south of the St. Lawrence River. And that pretty much tilts the momentum to ending the nuclear power era in NY/NE when those two expire (I believe within a year or two of each other).b&m 1566 wrote:I knew it was only going to be a matter of time. Look for the state to purchase the ROW, it will be needed in the future when the Seabrook Nuclear Power Plant is decommissioned and torn down. A process from I have been told takes 10 to 20 years to complete.When exactly WILL that be? The operating license expires in 2026, but is it likely at all that would end sooner? Is there any chance of getting another license?
It's specced that they have to transport the waste out by rail because they can't bring barges through the marsh capable of hauling the required tonnage, and the trucking routes (95 & 1) have much too high traffic volumes for the thousands of trucks worth of waste that'll have to get shipped with security escort. Truck is pretty much the last resort if going by rail through Portsmouth isn't feasible. Of course, how exactly they're gonna reactivate and pay for the reactivation isn't addressed so just because it's the preferred mode doesn't mean it won't ultimately be truck. But 20 years is about right for when NH is gonna want to make a big push for instituting commuter rail on the Eastern Route. I think the timing of when they start agitating for that is going to be curiously synergistic with with the timetable for Seabrook's decommissioning. Convenient shotgun marriage of fed pork will be available for that task if they make a double-barrel lobby for short-term and long-term use of the track and get to tap Dept. of Energy-related funding sources for a portion of the restoration costs. There's not many lines in the country with that extra card to play, so I'm sure the state's already duly noted this for when they revisit in 10 years and start working with the various plant stakeholders on prelim decommissioning plans.