Entergy Corp. and NorthStar Group Services Inc. settled the proposed sale of the closed Vermont Yankee nuclear power plant with several Vermont state agencies.
The memorandum of understanding submitted to the Vermont Public Utility Commission includes better financial assurances compared to the original proposal, and establishment of site restoration standards for NorthStar to comply with during decommissioning.
Under the new proposal, NorthStar will increase its support agreement to $140 million, from $125 million, according to the March 2 statement.
An interest-bearing escrow account will be created with an initial $30 million, and will be funded by NorthStar over time to a minimum balance of $55 million, with withdrawals to be approved by the state Department of Public Service and the Agency of Natural Resources.
The proposal also includes a $25 million NorthStar subcontractor guaranty available, which will be usable if all other forms of financial assurance are unavailable, and a $30 million pollution legal liability insurance product to provide coverage for site restoration activities.
Meanwhile, a comprehensive reporting protocol will keep state agencies up to date about the progress and financial status of the decommissioning project.
Entergy, as part of the deal, will provide about $30 million funding to increase the balance of the site restoration trust to $60 million, and terminate an existing $20 million parent guaranty supporting the trust.
Entergy also will contribute about $40 million from proceeds of the Department of Energy litigation, expected in 2023, in case certain decommissioning project milestones have not been met by then.
The new proposal would see NorthStar kick off decontamination and dismantlement by 2021, and potentially as early as 2019, and complete it by 2030. The process was originally scheduled to begin in 2068, with an estimated completion date of 2075.
The proposed sale is also subject to the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission approval.
