Indian Point nuclear reactor fuel rods moved out of cooling pools - Mid Hudson News Website
Indian Point nuclear reactor fuel rods moved out of cooling pools - Mid Hudson News
BUCHANAN – Holtec, the company that owns the decommissioned Indian Point nuclear power plant in Buchanan, has transferred all 3,998 spent nuclear fuel assemblies to dry cask storage.
The announcement was made in a news release from the State Department of Public Service and Tom Congdon, chairman of the Closure Task Force. Congdon is executive deputy and deputy chair of the state agency.
Until now, the spent fuel rods were being stored in densely packed fuel cooling pools that have been a concern to the state contributing to its opposition to the relicensing of Indian Point more than 15 years ago.
The state was successful in having the facility close down permanently in 2021. Albany also insisted that the federal Nuclear Regulatory Commission oppose Holtec’s waivers for its post-defueling emergency plan until all spent nuclear fuel was out of the spent fuel pools.
They are now stored in 127 reinforced concrete and steel casks on the site’s spent fuel storage installations.
Related Knowledge Center: ENERGY BASICS: nuclear
Nuclear energy provides almost 20 percent of the U.S. electricity supply. Advocates have called for an expanded role for nuclear as an emissions-free fuel source. But the economics of building new reactors are daunting. In addition, lingering safety concerns are an institutionalized part of the calculation of nuclear regulation, and highly radioactive nuclear waste remains a can that public officials have been inclined to kick down the road. The Energy Information Administration projects a sharp decline in nuclear power generation over the next decade, as new nuclear plants — two are planned — are more than offset by anticipated retirements of several operating reactors.