Page 136 - Beyond Decommissioning

Relevant factors for redevelopment 117

developing renewables can provide an economically viable reuse option for sites with
l
significant cleanup costs.
A few renewable energy developments on contaminated land are listed in the
following:
l Steel Winds Wind Farm, Lackawanna, NY: 14 wind turbines installed on an old slag pile
generate 35MW.
l Fort Carson Landfill Solar Development, CO: 4.7MW solar photovoltaic (PV) array built on
5ha of a former landfill.
l New Rifle Mill Site, CO: 2.3MW PV solar system powers reclamation of contaminated
wastewater.
l Pemaco Superfund Site, Maywood, CA, rooftop solar PV panels offset power costs of water
pumping and treatment: an investment of US$ 21,000 in solar energy saves US$ 3000 a year
(Renewables, 2010 and updates).
Storage of spent fuel onsite at ISFSIs can be a good interim measure, but eventually
the spent fuel must be removed offsite to centralized long-term storage or disposal.
Likewise, there is a potential use for storage of LLW at NPP sites, but onsite storage
only defers the final disposition of these wastes. Permanent waste disposal at NPP
sites should only be allowable if the sites are capable of meeting the requirements
of waste disposal facilities (incidentally, the potential proliferation of waste disposal
sites is the main reason for the almost universal disapproval of entombment as a
decommissioning strategy).
Where the reuse is to be managed by a new owner the original owner may transfer
the responsibility for any remaining parts of the site and residual risks stemming from
past activities to the new owner. In some regulatory regimes this is the only way of
ridding the owner from a potentially indefinite liability or at least providing coverage
against those risks.

5.7 Interim use

Nature does require her times of preservation.
William Shakespeare (1564–1616), Henry VIII, Act III, sc. 2

Almost by definition, interim reuse offers opportunities for flexibility and innova-
tion and prospects success in follow-on phases.
The raison d’^ etre of interim use is that vacant space is wrong at any time and should
be used as soon as possible to create opportunities for a number of stakeholders.
Besides, smart use of unproductive buildings and vacant land not only benefits com-
munities, but also developers. In some cases, mothballing of an industrial facility may
be appropriate until a suitable new use is identified for the facility or its site.
Derelict buildings are vulnerable to deterioration and eventually they become can-
didates for demolition. Interim use can be a way to keep a site in use, and to prevent
demolition by neglect. Another important reason for interim reuse is avoiding waste
storage costs if a disposal route is not readily available.