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Prairie Island Power Uprate & Dry Cask Storage
On May 16, 2008, we filed an Application with Minnesota regulators for two Certificates of Need for the Prairie Island nuclear generating plant. The first request is to allow up to 35 additional dry casks to store spent fuel to support the continued operation of the plant until 2033/2034. (An application to renew the operating licenses for Prairie Island's two reactors was submitted to the federal Nuclear Regulatory Commission on April 15, 2008. The plant's current 40-year licenses expire in 2013 and 2014. The application requests 20-year license extensions for each 538-megawatt reactor.) The second request seeks to increase the generating capacity of each unit by 82 MW. Our analyses show that extending the life of Prairie Island and adding capacity are the most cost-effective options available to meet customers' increasing demand for electricity. The proposed increase in capacity also will reduce carbon emissions overall by reducing the need to build some new plants and by reducing the use of some existing fossil-fueled plants.
After the Application is reviewed for completeness, the Public Utilities Commission will set a schedule to review the merits of the requests.
The filing documents are posted below:
Xcel Energy's Reply Comments- Application for Certificates of Need- June 23, 2008
Supplemental Filing- Application for Certificates of Need- July 14, 2008
Site Permit Application-August 1, 2008
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