Indiana Michigan Power, a unit of AEP, has started the initial loading work for moving used fuel assemblies from the 2,107 MW Cook Nuclear Plant’s spent fuel pool into the recently completed dry cask storage facility.
Plans are to load 14 casks, each with 32 used assemblies. The loading work is expected to continue until early November.
Cook has stored used fuel in a steel-lined concrete pool, but that pool is nearly full. Workers have expanded the storage capacity twice, but further expansion is not feasible.
The storage facility is a specially designed, two-acre concrete pad near the centre of the plant property. The pad can hold 94 casks and could be expanded to ease removal of all fuel assemblies from the spent fuel pool and decommissioning of both units.