Managing the Decommissioning of Maine Yankee Nuclear Plant

The Maine Yankee Nuclear Plant is an 860-MWe, three-loop, combustion engineering PWR that produced 120 billion KW-HRs between 1972 and 1997. The plant was prematurely and suddenly shut down in August 1997. This presentation deals with the chaotic challenges accompanying a premature end of operations. The decommissioning strategy involves a change from a functional, operations-oriented organization to a matrixed, engineering and construction organization. The shortfall in the trust fund will be discussed along with the downsizing of company personnel. Additionally, regulatory and community relations, site characterization, establishment of a spent fuel pool island, the concept of a “cold, dark plant” and the competitive bidding process for major contractors will be presented.