Relicensing

On January 27, 2006 Vermont Yankee applied to the NRC for a 20 year extension of its operating license. The application is currently being reviewed by the applicable regulatory agencies.

Power Uprate

On May 5th, 2006 Vermont Yankee completed its power uprate. It is currently producing 650 MW of clean, low cost electricity.

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission and the Vermont Public Service Board were the lead agencies charged with oversight of the approval process that ultimately led to the increase, known as an "uprate."

Dry Fuel Storage

Like all U.S. nuclear power plants, Vermont Yankee is required by the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) to safely store used fuel onsite, until it is removed by the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE). Used fuel is removed from the reactor once every 18 months when the plant undergoes refueling.

Spent fuel is currently stored in an on-site fuel pool - a heavily reinforced concrete structure filled with water that acts as a natural barrier to radiation and provides initial cooling to the fuel as its radioactivity decays.

U.S. nuclear plants were designed under the assumption that the federal government would remove the used fuel in a timely manner throughout operation. The government, however, has not yet begun moving the fuel. Not unexpectedly, a growing number of plants - including Vermont Yankee - have fuel pools that are nearing their storage capacity. In order to continue operating, these plants need to supplement their fuel pools.

On-site, above ground temporary dry fuel storage has become the principal option for nuclear power plants needing additional fuel storage capacity. To date, approximately 30 U.S. nuclear power plants have constructed or are planning to construct such storage facilities to safeguard used fuel until a federal facility becomes available.

On May 4, 2005 the Vermont Legislature approved the construction of a dry cask fuel storage facility at Vermont Yankee. This will allow spent fuel to be stored in transportable steel and concrete containers that can eventually be shipped to a national spent fuel repository in Yucca Mountain, Nevada, upon its completion. Current estimates indicate the spent fuel pool will be shipped in 2017. This is the first step in the fuel being shipped out of Vermont.

The vote was 113-5 in the VT House and 18-6 in the VT Senate.

Construction is underway on the area where the units will be housed.

As one of the first nuclear plants to be constructed, Vermont Yankee will be one of the first plants that will be permitted to remove used nuclear fuel and store it permanently at the repository in Yucca Mountain. The NRC conducts stringent inspections to assure that dry fuel storage facilities are safe, that no radioactivity will escape, and that the design makes them secure from a terrorist attack.

For more information about long term spent fuel storage, visit the NRC at: http://www.nrc.gov/waste/hlw-disposal.html