The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission said last week it will issue a license to utility Florida Power & Light for two new nuclear reactors at Turkey Point, south of Miami, doubling the number of reactors onsite.
Juno Beach, Fla.-based FPL has sought an operating license from the NRC since 2009 for the proposed 2,200-megawatt Turkey Point 6 and 7 reactors, estimated to cost as much as $21.8 billion.
If the reactors are built, it would be no sooner than 2031, Kallanish Energy learns.
The licenses grant FPL permission to build and operate two Westinghouse Electric-designed AP1000 reactors at the site.
FPL spokesman Peter Robbins told the Palm Beach Post newspaper the actual license is anticipated this month.
“When we started this process, we saw a need in terms of growth, and it provides fuel diversity,” Robbins told the Post.
Robbins said FPL will monitoring the only other nuclear reactor construction project in North America, Plant Vogtle in southern Georgia, which is expected to be completed in roughly four years.
“We are not going to be making a decision until that project is done,” Robbins said.
The proposed Westinghouse reactors have come under intense scrutiny because they are the same type left unfinished at the failed V.C. Summer nuclear project in South Carolina. Westinghouse, which filed for bankruptcy on March 29, 2017, has exited the reactor construction business.
However, Georgia Power and its partner utilities are moving forward with completion of its twin AP1000s, despite billions in cost overruns and other problems.
FPL customers have paid nearly $282 million in costs associated with the two reactors, and FPL has spent $315 million on pre-construction costs. Expenses could grow by another $90 million over the next five years, the Post reported.
Florida law allows utilities to collect certain costs during the licensing and pre-construction phases of nuclear plants.
