Vernon presses for clarity on Vermont Yankee redevelopment

Some residents said the company should not act without Vernon’s support and approval.

Town officials and residents are asking for a larger say in what comes next for the Vermont Yankee property, even as the redevelopment process remains tied to decommissioning work that is still underway and may not be finished until late this year or next year, followed by Nuclear Regulatory Commission approval.

At a joint meeting Tuesday night of the Select Board and the Vernon Planning Commission, chairman Brandon Bucossi said his impression is that PowerTransitions, the Texas company examining future uses for the site, is most likely looking at battery storage. He said that view comes from the company’s earlier public remarks. Bucossi also said he planned to contact Carrie Hitt, PowerTransitions’ point of contact, to push for a public session with Vernon residents as soon as possible.

The meeting showed little patience for uncertainty. Several attendees said PowerTransitions needs to establish credibility with the community and put any commitments in writing before moving ahead. Some residents also said the company should not act without Vernon’s support and approval.

A second option that drew particular resistance was a data center. In his follow-up comments, Bucossi said that reaction matches what he has heard from local residents, who view that possibility as the least appealing. National criticism of data centers over electricity demand, water use and noise has only sharpened that concern.

PowerTransitions has leased the redevelopment rights from NorthStar Group Services, which owns the Vermont Yankee site after buying the closed plant from Entergy Nuclear in 2019. The company has previously discussed three possible paths for the property: battery storage, a small modular nuclear reactor, or a data center.

Hitt said Wednesday by phone that PowerTransitions has not settled on any of those choices. She added that the company is willing to meet publicly in Vernon and has offered to do so before. No representative from PowerTransitions attended Tuesday’s meeting.

Some of the sharpest criticism centered on process. Select Board member Jim Pinkerton, who also serves on the Planning Commission, said PowerTransitions made a poor first impression by going to state officials and the Windham Regional Commission before speaking with Vernon directly. NorthStar employee Corey Daniels responded that the company understood that concern.

Shelli Harvey, another Select Board member, said she had only recently received the lease between NorthStar and PowerTransitions. After skimming it, she said she did not see language guaranteeing that Vernon’s preferences would be followed. She described the situation as one in which trust still has to be built.

Planning Commission member Maddy Arms said the town will need a clear explanation of why any proposed use would work financially and what benefits Vernon would see from it.

NorthStar employees David Pearson and Daniels attended the meeting and addressed some concerns, though they did not speak on behalf of PowerTransitions. Daniels said the companies are trying to settle a boundary matter near the Governor Hunt House community center. Under the current plan, the area would be surveyed and then leased to the Friends of Vernon, once the NRC gives final approval for decommissioning and any boundary changes can be finalized.

The Governor Hunt House is now owned by the Friends of Vernon, after NorthStar donated it to the group several years ago.

Tensions over the property have already surfaced this summer. Officials revisited the issue Tuesday of a house on Gov. Hunt Road that borders the Yankee site and is owned by NorthStar. A local resident had moved toward buying it, but PowerTransitions used its option to stop the sale. NorthStar later reimbursed the resident for the expenses tied to the failed deal.