In late-December 2016, following a ten-month competitive bid process, Southern California Edison announced that it has selected a joint venture of AECOM and EnergySolutions as the Decommissioning General Contractor for the San Onofre Nuclear Generating Station (SONGS). This is one of the country’s largest commercial nuclear plant decommissioning projects. The joint venture will be known as SONGS Decommissioning Solutions.
Overview
The major SONGS dismantlement work will not begin before 2018 when, as required by the California Environmental Quality Act, state regulators are expected to complete their environmental review. The project is expected to create about 600 jobs during the 10-year dismantlement phase, including workers from local companies.
AECOM, a fully integrated global infrastructure firm, was named one of Fortune magazine’s “World’s Most Admired Companies” in 2016. AECOM designs, builds, finances and operates assets in more than 150 countries. EnergySolutions, which specializes in nuclear plant decommissioning and waste management, is currently in the demolition phase of decommissioning both the Zion and Dairyland nuclear power stations.
The $4.4 billion nuclear plant decommissioning is financed through existing trust funds, including SCE’s share of the project as majority owner. The total cost includes the dismantlement work awarded to SONGS Decommissioning Solutions and continued on-site storage of San Onofre’s used nuclear fuel until the federal government provides a required repository and restoration activities.
SCE shares responsibility for decommissioning with San Onofre co-owners San Diego Gas & Electric and the city of Riverside, as well as former co-owner the city of Anaheim.
Background
When operational, San Onofre Units 2 and 3 generated 2,200 megawatts of electricity. In June 2013, SCE announced that it would retire San Onofre Units 2 and 3 and that it had begun the preparations to decommission the facility. SCE has established core principles of safety, stewardship and engagement to guide decommissioning.
An Edison International company, Southern California Edison is one of the nation’s largest electric utilities, serving a population of nearly 15 million via 5 million customer accounts in a 50,000-square-mile service area within Central, Coastal and Southern California.
For additional information, please visit songscommunity.com or contact Liese Mosher, Principal Manager, Decommissioning Communications, at Southern California Edison, at (949) 368-9750 or at liese.mosher@sce.com; Kathy Davis, Executive Director, Southwestern Low-Level Radioactive Waste Compact Commission at (916) 448-2390 or at swllrwcc@swllrwcc.org; or, Stephen Woods, Chief, Division of Food, Drug and Safety, California Department of Public Health, at (916) 440-7883 or at steve.woods@cdph.ca.gov.