The Department of Energy and a handful of its contractors are gearing up to receive a high burnup research cask shipment at the Idaho National Laboratory in the coming year.
The high burnup research cask will be shipped out of Dominion Energy’s North Anna Power Station in Mineral, Va. DOE said last June it will conduct a dry run in spring 2027 and the actual cask shipment is expected in fall 2027.
According to a recent announcement from DOE’s Office of Environmental Management, DOE and the Amentum-led contractor Idaho Environmental Coalition, INL was picked to receive the shipment “because of its specialized facilities, equipment and a workforce experienced with safely handling used nuclear fuel, capabilities generally unavailable at commercial nuclear power plants.”
The Idaho Nuclear Technology and Engineering Center (INTEC) is where the high burnup research cask will be received in 2027.
The environmental contractor proposed reusing the rail infrastructure at the INTEC for the incoming cask, saying it” will provide a more efficient and cost-effective way to transfer the cask,” according to the update. The contractor also said that the rail could be reused for future spent nuclear fuel shipments going to and from the INL site.