As the world continues to see a renewed interest in clean, carbon-free baseload energy from nuclear power, Holtec has continued its work as the technology leader in safely storing used nuclear fuel produced by nuclear reactors worldwide. Back in June of this year, we announced here the arrival of 12 of our HI-STORM systems for loading to support the continued operations of Diablo Canyon plants.
Diablo Canyon provides enough energy to power more than 3 million homes in California and the decision to forgo decommissioning and continue operations, meant that the fuel in the spent fuel pool needed to be safely stored to make room for future refueling campaigns.
The last of the 12 HI-STORM systems was loaded in late October bringing the total casks safely stored at the facility to 70. This was completed with great effort and coordination by Holtec, Pacific Gas and Electric (PG&E) and Diablo Canyon Power Plant (DCPP).
Guided by the consideration of public health and safety, PG&E has required that the new casks, like those deployed before at the plant, are secured to the massive reinforced concrete pad such that they will successfully withstand any earthquake that has been recorded at any place on the planet.
“This project has set a new bar for excellence-in-execution and partnership between Holtec and PG&E,” said Joy Russell, Senior Vice President and Chief Commercial Officer of Holtec. “The partnership and coordination to safely manufacture, deliver, and load 384 used fuel assemblies in record time was nothing short of exceptional.”
“The PG&E, DCPP, and Holtec International teams have a lot to be proud of from this campaign,” commented Eric Brackeen, DCPP Dry Fuel Storage Manager. “This was a great joint effort that maintained the focus on safety and accomplishing the work error-free and with excellence.”
“We continue to value the partnership between PG&E and Holtec to ensure we continuously more forward with the mission of DCPP to provide clean energy to California and show the value that nuclear energy brings to our energy security,” remarked Maureen Zawalick, PG&E’s Vice President, Nuclear Business and Technical Services.
The completion of this campaign brings the total Holtec casks loaded in 2024 to 124, accounting for 5,832 assemblies safely stored. With three additional campaigns to occur in 2024, Holtec systems will have been successfully deployed in North America, South America, Africa, and Europe in this calendar year.
Our keen focus on safety and customer needs have allowed us to deploy 2,148 spent fuel storage systems, containing 109,039 fuel assemblies, safely around the globe and remains a key core business for Holtec as we continue to serve and innovate in the nuclear industry.
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