Future of Vermont Yankee site being explored: Options include data center, nuclear reactor or battery storage

VERNON — The state of Vermont and the Texas-based company that is exploring the redevelopment of the Vermont Yankee site are working on a letter of intent that would govern how the project would proceed and what the public engagement process would be. Kerrick Johnson, commissioner of the Department of Public Service, said this week in an interview that the state of Vermont actually had the first option on the 140-acre parcel, and not PowerTransitions, the company exploring putting either a data center, a small modular nuclear reactor, or a battery storage facility. Two years ago, PowerTransitions, a Houston-Texas based power development company, signed a lease and right of first refusal with NorthStar Group Services Inc., the owner of the Vermont Yankee site, without notifying the state, Johnson said. He said he was reminded about the state's option, which was included in one of the memorandums of understanding signed in 2018 between the state and Entergy Nuclear when the Yankee site was sold, by Rep. Laura Sibilia, I-Dover, when news of PowerTransitions' interest first surfaced. "I didn't like how we found out," Johnson said of NorthStar's agreement with PowerTransitions, who said he got "apologies around" for the oversight. He said since then the state's discussions with PowerTransitions have been professional and cordial. "PowerTransitions is in the early stage of the development process. We look forward to responsible engagement with the Vernon community and other stakeholders," company spokeswoman Carrie Hitt said Thursday via email, declining further comment. PowerTransitions is in the power business, particularly redeveloping old utility sites — it is currently planning a data center on the site of a former gas-fired power plant in Kansas City, Kansas. Power Transitions is owned by a private equity firm, Partners Group, also of Texas. PowerTransitions' original plans included building a battery storage facility on a portion of the 140-acre site along the Connecticut River, but since then, it has expanded its options to include a data center or a small modular nuclear reactor. Johnson, a longtime Vermont energy executive who became Gov. Phil Scott's public service commissioner in 2014, said he was committed to the redevelopment taking the town of Vernon's wishes and concerns into consideration first, then the state's and then the region's. He said he was concerned that the large power transmission station, owned by VELCO and located next to the Yankee site, was an enormous investment paid for by Vermont utility customers and it wasn't being adequately utilized. He called it "an energy crossroads," and he said he was "committed" to making sure that asset is used. Johnson is a former executive with VELCO. He said the site is very important to the New England power grid, as it manages electrical demand in the region. New England power planners are working on increasing available power, said Johnson, who had just attended a conference in Rhode Island of his New England counterparts. "We don't have enough resources," he said of power availability. Johnson said that in a way any discussion is very preliminary because decommissioning hasn't been completed at Vermont Yankee, although NorthStar has said it would complete the physical work in 2026. The Nuclear Regulatory Commission has to review the work and any future plans and "release" the site to future use, Johnson noted, and there is no timetable for the NRC decision. In the meanwhile, the 42 years worth of spent nuclear fuel in its storage casks will remain indefinitely. Johnson, who until recently was the chairman of the state's Nuclear Decommissioning Citizens Advisory Panel, said he believes the town of Vernon's priorities are getting a tax-producing entity on the site to help with property taxes, as well as provide good employment, which he said he expects a modular reactor would, compared to the other suggestions. At a meeting earlier this week of the Vernon Select Board, it was noted that nothing had been formally submitted to the town by PowerTransitions, although it has been talking informally with both the state and the town. PowerTransitions was introduced to the town, state and regional officials two years ago by NorthStar. Much of Tuesday night's discussion centered on a real estate option PowerTransitions has on a former private home on the Governor Hunt Road, which NorthStar had used for offices, as well as concerns associated with data centers. "NorthStar regrets that the other potential buyer incurred out-of-pocket expenses for property inspection and an appraisal before learning that Power Transitions would exercise its right of first refusal. As a result, NorthStar has offered to reimburse the unsuccessful purchaser for the property inspection and an appraisal expenses,” NorthStar CEO Scott State said in a statement late Thursday. At the Vernon meeting, it was pointed out that any project is years away, and would either come under Act 250, the state's land use law, or Section 248, the state's utility expansion law. Johnson joined the Scott Administration in 2024 after a long career with VELCO, the Vermont Electric Company, which is owned by other Vermont utilities. Back in October, State, the CEO of NorthStar, said the company remained committed to redevelopment of the site "for a use preferred by the town of Vernon and other area stakeholders," a pledge he reiterated on Thursday. "Nearly two years ago, PowerTransitions — a company that specializes in redeveloping former power sites into new power generation, renewable, energy storage and powered land campuses — expressed an interest in exploring the potential of the VY site," State said in October. In keeping with NorthStar's commitment to defer to the town and other stakeholders regarding site redevelopment, NorthStar introduced PowerTransitions officials to local and state officials so they could discuss the issue directly, he added. Since that time, NorthStar has not been involved in the follow up conversations. "We stand by to support stakeholder decisions about VY redevelopment and to engage in further discussions as needed." Adding to the political mix is the not-very-secret support of nuclear power by the Scott administration, which earlier this year was involved in now-defeated legislation which would have removed an existing level of state oversight over any nuclear facility. Scott last week also vetoed a bill that would have placed further restrictions on data centers in the state. NorthStar Group Services, which bought the closed nuclear reactor site and its $500 million decommissioning fund from Entergy Nuclear back in 2019, has been busy in those seven years, demolishing the plant and shipping the waste to a low-level nuclear waste site in west Texas. NorthStar is ahead of schedule and on budget for the project, which will remain the site of 59 giant concrete and steel caskets containing 42-years plus of highly radioactive spent nuclear fuel until the federal Department of Energy builds a nationwide storage facility.