Pacific Gas & Electric plans to issue a request for proposals around September for the expedited transfer and storage of spent nuclear fuel at the Diablo Canyon nuclear power plant near San Luis Obispo, Calif.
Representatives from the utility briefed the Diablo Canyon Decommissioning Engagement Panel on the plan Wednesday.
The utility expects to close its two Diablo Canyon reactors in November 2024 and August 2025. It wants to accelerate completion of fuel movement from 10 years after 2025 to seven years after that date. That would save money while also giving PG&E extra time to deal with unexpected problems, Mark Mayer, manager for nuclear fuel purchasing, told the panel.
There was no immediate word on the schedule for completing the procurement.
Pacific Gas & Electric is also exploring whether better cask technology might be available to deal with heat from the used fuel than the Holtec 100 system currently used at Diablo Canyon, said utility spokeswoman Susan Hosn.
Officials mentioned three potential storage cask vendors Wednesday: Holtec, NAC International, and Orano. However, Hosn said other vendors would be welcome to send proposals.
Since 2009, PG&E has completed seven campaigns to transfer used fuel to a dry storage installation at Diablo Canyon. The pad holds 1,856 used fuel assemblies in 58 casks. Another 1,596 assembles are in Diablo Canyon’s wet storage pools.
