License Stewardship Approach to Commercial Nuclear Power Plant Decommissioning

The paper explores both the conceptual approach to decommissioning commercial nuclear facilities using a license stewardship approach as well as the first commercial application of this approach. The license stewardship approach involves a decommissioning company taking control of a site and the 10 CFR 50 License in order to complete the work utilizing the established trust fund. In conclusion: The license stewardship approach is a novel way to approach the decommissioning of a retired nuclear power plant that offers several key advantages to all parties. For the owner and regulators, it provides assurance that the station will be decommissioned in a safe, timely manner. Ratepayers are assured that the work will be completed for the price they already have paid, with the decommissioning contractor assuming the financial risk of decommissioning. The contractor gains control of the assets and liabilities, the license, and the decommissioning fund. This enables the decommissioning contractor to control their work and eliminates redundant layers of management, while bringing more focus on achieving the desired end state - a restored site. (authors)