Entergy Corp. and Holtec International on Dec. 23 jointly submitted a license transfer application with the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) for the transfer of the NRC licenses of the Palisades Nuclear Plant to Holtec. The move follows the plant’s shutdown and permanent defueling in the spring of 2022.
“Holtec’s plan to safely accelerate the Palisades decommissioning schedule by more than four decades provides the potential for site redevelopment much sooner than if Entergy continued to own the facility after shutdown,” said Entergy’s (ETR) Chris Bakken.
Holtec has set up a plan to complete the dismantling, sanitization, and remediation of Palisades to NRC regulatory standards by 2041. As part of the plan, Holtec will also provide job opportunities for around 260 of Entergy’s employees who presently work at Palisades.
The application also sought approval of the license transfer of Entergy’s already-decommissioned Big Rock Point facility near Charlevoix.
Upon NRC regulatory approval, Holtec will take control of the Palisades site, its nuclear decommissioning trust fund, real property, and used nuclear fuel. It will also assume ownership of the Big Rock Point ISFSI property and used nuclear fuel.
Holtec also submitted an exception request seeking permission for the use of the Palisades NDT (Non-Destructive Testing) for spent fuel management and site restoration activities. NDT refers to the inspection techniques that allow inspectors to collect data about material without damaging it.
Palisades and Big Rock Point would join Holtec’s growing fleet of decommissioning plants upon the completion of the above procedures.
On Nov. 23, the NRC approved the transfer application for the licenses for Indian Point Energy Center’s nuclear power plants from Entergy’s subsidiaries to a Holtec subsidiary for decommissioning.
Mizuho analyst Paul Fremont on Nov. 17, reiterated a Buy rating on ETR stock and raised the price target from $109 to $119.
Fremont was pleased with the efforts and progress the company has made in reducing costs, which in turn has helped offset the impact of Covid-19 and mild weather conditions. (See ETR stock analysis on TipRanks)
From the rest of the Street, the stock scores a cautiously optimistic analyst consensus of a Moderate Buy based on 4 Buys and 2 Holds. The average analyst price target of $115.40 implies upside potential of 21% to current levels.
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