NAC MAGNASTOR system (NAC International)US-based NAC International (NAC) said on 3 June that it had received a contract from Exelon Generation for the supply of the NAC's ultra-high capacity MAGNASTOR systems for transportable dry used fuel storage for use at the Three Mile Island nuclear plant in Pennsylvania.

NAC will provide cask licensing, dry storage facility design and construction, hardware supply, and fuel loading operations for the TMI dry storage facility, a statement said. The contract is to support TMI’s transfer of used fuel to dry cask storage and implementation of a new Independent Spent Fuel Storage Installation (ISFSI).

Exelon announced in May that it would shut the last rector at Three Mile Island on 30 September 2019.

NAC’s MAGNASTOR system is the first NRC-certified ultra-high capacity dry used fuel storage system deployed at US commercial nuclear plants. The system’s design provides a compact, high-capacity, and optimised configuration, offering efficient operations and superior dose performance, NAC said.

The TMI project marks NAC’s seventh MAGNASTOR system award worldwide. Other sites that have selected the system include Duke Energy’s Catawba and McGuire nuclear plants, the Palo Verde nuclear generating station, Exelon Generation’s Zion Station, Dominion's Kewaunee nuclear plant, and Taiwan Power Company’s Kuosheng nuclear plant.

The MAGNASTOR system received its initial storage certification from the US Nuclear Regulatory Commission in February 2009, and NAC began delivering the systems to customers in July 2010. NAC said more than 120 MAGNASTOR systems have been loaded with no safety incidents.


Photo: NAC MAGNASTOR system (NAC International)