Trojan in Twilight: Epilogue

The Trojan site reopened to the public at 7:00 AM on Monday, May 22, and cleanup contractor ICONCO began cleaning up the debris. The concrete from the tower will remain onsite after being crushed into 3-inch pieces, and the steel will be recycled. Cleanup for the cooling tower implosion was scheduled to be completed in September of 2006. Demolition of the Power Block buildings continued, with a scheduled completion date in 2007, and the dome-shaped concrete Containment Building waits for its demolition in 2008. Trojan Park officially reopened Memorial Day for the summer as planned.

Trojan Central and the other office buildings on the site will remain, at least for the immediate future. Portland General Electric has not decided on any future plans for the site, although demolition of the power plant opens up several possibilities, one of which is another power plant with a different source of fuel, such as natural gas. I think this is quite likely, as PGE will not be able to leave the Trojan site for a long time. Spent nuclear fuel will be stored at the ISFSI until at least 2024, the switching station will remain in service for new PGE power plants in the area and PGE has said they will be keeping Trojan Park maintained and open to the public indefinitely. I think it only makes sense for PGE to place another major facility at this prime location that they already own and will have a stake in for years to come.

Any future development of the site will not begin for several years. Demolition of the Containment Building will likely have to be completed first, and any future use will undoubtedly have to go through numerous studies and permitting processes. However, I think it is very likely that a new facility could be in place and operating long before the cooling tower's original demolition date of 2018.

Though the plant's fate was sealed long ago, demolition has a finality to it. Many people would've liked the cooling tower to stay, but its destruction makes room for something else to take its place: something that will create jobs and build the local economy. Even though Trojan's life was cut short, it always had a finite life: it was intended to be shut down in 2011. With demolition already underway, perhaps by that time something will have already taken its place: something with permanence.

Trojan Nuclear Power Plant Links:
Portland General Electric
Wikipedia: Trojan Nuclear Power Plant
Trojan Wetlands
The Virtual Nuclear Tourist
Trojan at NukeWorker.com. This site also has many pictures.

This concludes the original content of my Trojan in Twilight page. To see any additional blog entries about the Trojan Nuclear Power Plant, click on the Trojan label.