The two generation units at the Beaver Valley nuclear power plant were scheduled for deactivation in 2021
Energy Harbor seeks to continue operations at Beaver Valley nuclear power station the US. (Credit: Pixabay/Markus Distelrath)
US-based Energy Harbor announced its decision to withdraw plans to deactivate the 1,872MW Beaver Valley Power Station in Shippingport, Pennsylvania.
Featuring two generation units, the Beaver Valley nuclear power plant was scheduled for deactivation in 2021.
The decision to rescind, which has been notified to the regional transmission organisation PJM Interconnection (PJM), will allow the firm to continue operations at the nuclear power plant.
Energy Harbor president and CEO John Judge said: “The decision to rescind the deactivations for Beaver Valley was largely driven by the efforts of Governor Wolf’s administration to join the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative (RGGI) which will begin to help level the playing field for our carbon-free nuclear generators.
“In addition, our retail growth strategy now offers carbon free energy that allows customers to meet their environmental, social and sustainability goals.
“We are excited about the RGGI process implementation in early 2022 but would need to revisit deactivation if RGGI does not come to fruition as expected.”
Energy Harbor to submit Rescinds Deactivation Notice to NRC
The company is planning to submit a written notification of the nuclear deactivations withdrawal decision to the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) in 30 days.
Organisations that support the US nuclear industry Institute of Nuclear Power Operations (INPO) and Nuclear Energy Institute (NEI) have also been notified of the company’s decision to rescind the deactivations for Beaver Valley nuclear project.
In March 2018, FirstEnergy Solutions (FES) along with its subsidiaries and FirstEnergy Nuclear Operating Company (FENOC) have filed voluntary petitions for the bankruptcy protection under Chapter 11 of the Federal Bankruptcy Code with the United States Bankruptcy Court.
As a result, FirstEnergy has recently completed chapter 11 restructuring process and has emerged as Energy Harbor, a premier power producer and retail supplier.
Commenting on the move, Energy Harbor executive chairman John Kiani said: “Combined with our rapidly growing retail business and dependable clean air credit support, the majority of Energy Harbor’s cash flow will be comprised of high quality, visible and predictable zero carbon businesses.”