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Fla. utility seeks to run Turkey Point nuke for up to 80 years

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Fla. utility seeks to run Turkey Point nuke for up to 80 years

Florida Power & Light Co. could become the first U.S. utility permitted to operate a nuclear plant for 80 years.

The NextEra Energy Inc. utility subsidiary has filed an application with the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission for a second 20-year operating license renewal the two units at its Turkey Point power plant, about 40 miles outside of Miami.

The two units, known as Turkey Point units 3 and 4, each have a winter net capacity of 826 MW and originally began operating in 1972 and 1973. Their initial 40-year operating licenses were renewed in 2002, and they are currently licensed to operate until 2032 and 2033.

So far, 86 operating U.S. nuclear plants have been granted 20-year extensions to their initial operating licenses. Several have discussed applying for a second extension, and FPL is now the first to file the application. If approved, the Turkey Point units would be licensed to operate until 2052 and 2053.

Dominion Energy Inc. subsidiary Virginia Electric and Power Co. doing business as Dominion Energy Virginia notified the NRC in November 2017 of its intention to file a second 20-year license extension for the two-unit North Anna plant in Louisa County, Va., which is partially owned by Old Dominion Electric Cooperative. Dominion is also considering a second license at its Surry nuclear plant. In June 2016, Exelon Corp. informed the federal agency that it would apply for a second 20-year license extension for the two-unit Peach Bottom nuclear plant in York County, Pa., that is co-owned with Public Service Enterprise Group Inc.

In a statement Jan. 30, FPL said the utility intends to make further upgrades at Turkey Point in the coming year to boost the two units' capacity by a combined 40 MW. Prior upgrades have boosted the plant's capacity by about 250 MW.

Also, FPL said it would add a 74.5-MW solar facility, called the FPL Miami-Dade Solar Energy Center, in Miami-Dade County, to be in service by mid-2020. The company pledged to add two battery storage systems in the county, one dedicated to supplying the public transit system. The utility is also going to conduct a pilot study of floating-solar technology in Miami-Dade County.

As well, FPL said it has been in collaboration with the Miami-Dade Water and Sewer Department to develop a water reclamation facility so that it will be able to use treated wastewater for cooling at the natural gas-fired, combined-cycle Turkey Point Unit 5 while improving water quality in cooling canals serving the nuclear units.

"By adding solar and battery storage near Turkey Point, combined with the high-efficiency natural gas and upgraded nuclear already in operation there, we would be creating the most diverse clean energy complex in the nation," FPL President and CEO Eric Silagy said in a news release.