Application for Florida reactors

Thursday, 23 July 2009

Florida Power & Light (FPL) has applied to build two Westinghouse AP1000s at Turkey Point. The sixth and seventh power units at the site could operate from the ends of 2017 and 2019.

 

FPL's hopes for two new reactors at Turkey Point have developed step by step over the last two years, but it was only with the final combined construction and operating licence application that it became known AP1000 had been chosen.

 

Turkey Point 6 and 7 (Image: NRC)

If approved by the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC), the units will join two other pressurized water reactors at Turkey Point as well as two gas/oil units and a combined cycle natural gas turbine. Turkey Point is a 4500 hectare site which is mostly natural and hosts one quarter of the USA's crocodile population, thanks to a water level stabilised by the plant's cooling system. The new reactors will have three cooling towers each and so will not disturb this habitat.

The application was made some three weeks ago but FPL and the NRC both decided not to tell anyone about the $12 billion project. Documents relating to the application can all now be found in the New Reactors section of the NRC public website.

Details in the documents reveal FPLs cost projections for the new build. Based on three cases with varying owner scope and transmission costs, the total estimated project cost including escalation and additional funds for the construction period varies from $12.1 billion to $17.8 billion.

The total overnight costs of the power plants including first fuel load is put at between $6.8 billion and $9.9 billion, giving a price per installed kW of generating capacity of $3108 to $4540.

FPL expects the two reactors to be completed within a year of December 2017 and December 2019 respectively. The units have a design life of 60 years over which time FPL assured the NRC it would set aside at least $376 million each for decommissioning and site clearance. This would be built up over the years in a trust.

 

FPL has asked the NRC for permission to conduct certain work towards construction before a COL is actually issued. The company wants to clear and excavate the site and lay foundations for the reactor and plant buildings.