PG&E will transfer spent fuel to above-ground canisters
– By Stephen Heiser –
Operators at Diablo Canyon nuclear power plant will begin loading the first dry cask with spent reactor fuel in June. Dry cask storage is a safe, alternative method for storing used, solid nuclear fuel material and is a proven technology that is utilized across the nuclear industry.
Like numerous other operating nuclear plants across the U.S. this plant will need to store its used nuclear fuel on its property until a more permanent storage facility is opened by the U.S. Department of Energy.
All aspects of the dry cask spent fuel storage program will be designed and implemented with safety as the top priority.
The initiative to add more storage space for spent fuel is necessary due to limited remaining space in the station’s current fuel storage pool—the steel-lined, concrete water pools located within the plant where spent fuel is currently stored safely . The additional storage will also ensure the continued long-term operation of the plant to produce clean, low-cost electricity for future
generations.
PG&E plans to load eight canisters with spent fuel rods from one reactor during this first batch, PG&E spokeswoman Emily Christensen said. Each cask is expected to take 10 days to load. Another eight dry casks will be loaded with fuel from the other reactor in spring 2010.
Each container will be submerged in the spent fuel storage pool, where the spent fuel will be loaded. The casks will then be removed from the pool, drained and loaded onto a specially designed transporter, which will move the canister to a thick concrete storage pad behind the plant. A protective casing will be placed over each container and it will be bolted upright to the pad.
The utility had hoped to begin loading casks late last year. However equipment problems and modifications to the spent fuel storage building caused delays, Christensen said.
This forced PG&E to wait until it completed the plant’s current refueling outage. Four steam generators are also being installed during this outage.
Like all nuclear plants in the United States, Diablo Canyon is running out of room in its below-ground storage pools. Transferring the fuel to above-ground casks is the industry standard.
The dry cask facility will allow the plant to continue to operate uninterrupted, said James Becker, plant manager. Diablo Canyon provides about 10 percent of the state’s electricity.