General Electric Co. – Vallecitos Boiling Water Reactor (VBWR)

1.0 Site Identification

Type of Site:	Power Reactor
Location:	Sunol, CA
License No.:	DPR-1
Docket No.:	50-18
License Status:	DECON
Project Manager:	Jack Parrott

2.0 Site Status Summary

The VBWR was shutdown in 1963 and NRC issued a possession-only license in 1965. The license was renewed in 1973 and has remained effective under the provisions of 10 CFR 50.51(b). The facility has been maintained in SAFSTOR condition. The licensee submitted a Limited Post Shutdown Decommissioning Activities Report in 2022 that describes a change to active decommissioning (DECON) of the VBWR. The licensee, GE Hitachi (GEH), submitted a license termination plan on September 7, 2023, which was approved on November 27, 2024. On March 14, 2025, GEH transferred the license to NorthStar Vallecitos, LLC (NSV). The spent fuel has been removed from the site.

3.0 Major Technical or Regulatory Issues

In 2015, the licensee, GE Hitachi (GEH), began a licensing process to exempt the VBWR from the 60-year decommissioning schedule limit of 10 CFR 50.82(a)(3). The exemption request was disapproved by the Commission on August 6, 2021. GEH subsequently withdrew the exemption request by letter dated August 25, 2021. Active decommissioning of the VBWR has begun and NSV plans to terminate the license by 2025.

4.0 Estimated Date For Closure

Calendar year 2025