EDF Energy and Holtec International announced Tuesday that they have completed the U.K.’s first dry storage facility for spent nuclear fuel.
The dry storage facility, known in the U.S. as an independent spent fuel storage installation, will now prepare for the first delivery of spent fuel, which is expected in the fall. The £200 million project means the Sizewell B Nuclear Power Station in Suffolk will continue to operate until at least 2035 and potentially 2055. The facility will house spent fuel from Sizewell B until a geological disposal facility is established. The U.K. Nuclear Decommissioning Authority anticipates opening the repository by 2040 at the latest.
“The new dry fuel store is the first in the UK and sets a new global standard for the safe storage of spent fuel,” EDF Energy CEO Vincent de Rivaz said in a statement. “As well as investing in our existing stations we are also advancing our plans for the next generation of nuclear power stations in Britain, including here at Sizewell. I am confident that the Hinkley Point C project will go ahead very soon and this will pave the way for the next stage of consultation for Sizewell C.”
Holtec President and CEO Kris Singh said in the statement: “We have built on-site dry storage facilities at scores of nuclear plants around the world. Sizewell B is the first in the UK and is designed to the highest standards and extreme structural strength demanded by EDF Energy and the UK regulatory requirements.”
