ST. PAUL, Minn. – State regulators are giving Xcel Energy permission to more than double their capacity for storing spent nuclear fuel outside its plant at Monticello.
There are currently 30 steel units in concrete storage structures, and Xcel says it plans to add 14 more between 2030 and 2040. They have also requested approval for 36 additional units to extend the plant’s operating life past that.
The Monticello nuclear plant’s federal license expires in 2030, but Xcel has asked for a 20-year extension. The utility says reliable carbon-free generating capacity is needed to fill gaps in expanding solar and wind facilities.
Environmentalists warn there’s no central place in the U.S. to store a growing accumulation of nuclear waste that will be a hazard for thousands of years.
