Nuclear storage questions remain as Prairie Island plans growth
by Bob Geiger, Staff Writer, Finance & Commerce
April 5, 2010 10:12 AM CDT
Fuel all spent with nowhere to go.
That’s the conundrum facing Xcel Energy and Prairie Island Nuclear Plant, as the utility proceeds with plans to increase power generation at the two-reactor plant near Red Wing.
On-site storage of the 17-foot-tall fuel casks, which are 7.25 inches thick and weigh 125 tons each when filled with nuclear fuel, is a hot-button issue for Xcel Energy and the nearby Prairie Island Indian Community, which opposes storing fuel casks on-site.
That’s precisely what will happen, however, now that the federal government has abandoned plans to build a permanent repository at Yucca Mountain, Nev., for spent fuel from the nation’s 104 nuclear reactors.
The feds have spent more than $10 billion investing in the Yucca Mountain over nearly 30 years. But in March, U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Secretary Steven Chu filed paperwork ending the government’s efforts to establish a permanent storage site for spent nuclear fuel rods and other radioactive waste.
