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A demolition and wrecking contractor based in New York has recently acquired a local nuclear center in Sunol and is planning on decontaminating and restoring the site for future commercial or industrial use.
NorthStar Group Services, Inc. announced in a March 14 press release that it closed on an agreement with international power alliance GE Hitachi Nuclear Energy to take ownership of the Vallecitos Nuclear Center in Sunol for “nuclear decontamination, decommissioning, and environmental site restoration”.
The 1,600-acre facility — located on Highway 84 between interstates 580 and 680 — used to operate as an electricity-generating nuclear power plant more than 60 years ago and had remained open as a nuclear research center, according to the U.S. Department of Energy.
“Our team has developed deep experience in the safe and efficient decontamination, decommissioning, and restoration of former nuclear reactor sites across the country, including the successful implementation of NRC License Termination Plans at five other research reactor sites nationwide,” said Scott State, P.E., NorthStar CEO. “We appreciate GEH’s recognition of our expertise and the trust in our abilities this deal represents.”
GE Hitachi Nuclear Energy first announced its intent to sell the nuclear center back in May 2023. Its CEO, Jay Wileman, stated in a press release at the time, “By transferring the site to a recognized decommissioning expert like NorthStar, we can continue meeting our near-term requirements while maintaining focus on our core business product lines.”
According to Northstar’s recent press release, the company has been on site since 2023 continuing the work that was recently started by GE Hitachi. In November 2023, the company removed the Vallecitos Boiling Water Reactor and shipped it to be safely disposed of at a waste control facility in Texas.
“The VBWR was the first privately owned and operated nuclear power plant to deliver significant quantities of electricity to a public utility grid, along with several other test reactors, laboratories and hot cell facilities located on the site,” the company stated.
Some of the other work to be done at the nuclear center includes disposal of “additional low-level radioactive waste from the Vallecitos decommissioning”.
While the Weekly has not heard back from multiple requests for comments from NorthStar in regards to what could be developed at the site in the future, the company alluded to potentially reusing the land for commercial or industrial purposes.
“Under the parties’ decommissioning completion agreement, NorthStar’s efforts will restore the Vallecitos complex to conditions suitable for productive reuse for other commercial or industrial purposes,” according to the NorthStar press release.
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