Waste Management

Holtec loads 2,000th spent fuel cask at Entergy’s ANO

December 13, 2023, 7:00AMRadwaste Solutions

ANO dry storage campaign professionals stand before Holtec’s 2,000th storage cask. (Photo: Holtec)

Holtec International announced that it successfully loaded its 2,000th spent nuclear fuel canister this fall as part of the ongoing dry storage campaign at Entergy’s Arkansas Nuclear One (ANO) power plant in Russellville, Ark.

Spent fuel from ANO’s two pressurized water reactors is stored in Holtec’s MPC-37 multipurpose canister, each containing 37 PWR fuel assemblies in a prismatic basket made of Holtec’s Metamic-HT material in an egg-crate configuration. The company’s HI-STORM dry fuel storage systems have been in use at ANO since 2003.

Quote: Entergy’s chief nuclear officer, Kimberly Cook-Nelson, said, “We appreciate the strong partnership that we at Entergy have with Holtec. Arkansas Nuclear One is an important facility for our company, the industry, the state of Arkansas, and the Russellville community, and having the 2,000th spent fuel dry storage system is a key milestone for our continued safe, secure, and reliable operations.”

No. 2,000: Holtec said the 2,000th cask is an important milestone for the company’s used fuel management program, which is being used at 149 nuclear units around the world.

Holtec holds over 200 patents for its dry storage systems, which are manufactured at its plants in New Jersey, Pennsylvania, and Ohio. The company claims among its achievements the industry’s first multipurpose canister (MPC), the first dual-purpose metal cask, the first transport cask qualified for high burnup and mixed-oxide fuel, the first double-wall canister, the first portable robotic MPC welder, and the first use of laser peening to extend a canister’s service life in challenging (such as marine) environments.

Tags:
anodry storageentergyholtecspent nuclear fuel
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