Holtec International has announced that the first two HI-STORM casks have been successfully loaded and placed in the Independent Spent Fuel Storage Installation (ISFSI) at the Ascó nuclear power plant in northeastern Spain.
The ISFSI, which can hold up to 32 HI-STORM overpacks, each storing an MPC-32 containing 32 pressurized water reactor fuel assemblies, will cover the dry storage needs for the two Ascó units until the Spanish centralized interim spent fuel storage facility (ATC) is commissioned in 2017.
ENRESA, the public company responsible for the management, storage and disposal of radioactive waste produced in Spain, awarded Holtec a contract for the supply of ten HI-STORM 100 systems, and ancillary equipment in 2008.
The contract also included a requirement to license the HI-STORM 100 and HI-STAR 100 systems in Spain, which has also been successfully completed. The equipment was delivered in March 2013 and the first loading campaign was completed in May, according to Holtec.
Holtec said that the campaign brings the number of HI-STORM systems loaded in Spain to 14. The company also said it has three ongoing projects in the country at the Ascó, Jose Cabrera, and Trillo nuclear plants.
