As I told you last week, a Chicago engineering and energy consulting firm is attempting to purchase the closed Kewaunee nuclear power plant. There are some major obstacles to that occuring, however, as the Manitowoc, Wisconsin, Herald Times Reporter spelled out today:
Any attempt to restart the Kewaunee Power Station nuclear plant would take years.
RGA Labs Inc. of Barrington Hills, Ill., wants to buy the plant, which closed in 2013, and put it back into operation, according to Robert Abboud, company president and co-owner.
RGA, an engineering consulting firm, faces steep hurdles. The nuclear plant’s owner, Dominion Resources Inc. of Richmond, Va., has said it is not for sale, and the Nuclear Regulatory Commission, which is responsible for nuclear safety, said Wednesday it would be just like starting over.
“Dominion no longer has a license to operate Kewaunee. In order to bring the plant back online, a company would need to submit an application to the NRC for an operating license,” said Viktoria Mitlyng, NRC Region III spokeswoman.
“The NRC would follow its current process for licensing a new reactor to review it. The entire process would take several years at a minimum.”
