Determining Optimal Used Fuel Allocation Strategies

AbstractA key challenge in fulfilling the U.S. federal government’s obligations under the Nuclear Waste Policy Act is in the transition of used nuclear fuel (UNF) storage away from at-reactor storage and to a consolidated interim storage facility (CISF). The default strategy (Standard Contract) for the U.S. Department of Energy is to use the oldest fuel first (OFF) allocation strategy, which would entail the federal government prioritizing UNF shipments based on fuel discharge date with the option to prioritize shutdown sites. This may not be the most cost-efficient model given the extensive amount of UNF already at reactor sites. Currently, there is no way to preemptively remove fuel from sites that may be close to shutdown or have a higher storage or potential storage cost. As wet storage pools at reactors continue to fill to capacity at operating reactors, the backlog of UNF shipments to the CISF places additional pressure on operators to expand at-reactor dry storage capacity, thus adding to total sys...