St. Lucie Nuclear Power Plant

St. Lucie Nuclear Power Plant is a twin nuclear power station located on Hutchinson Island, near Port St. Lucie in St. Lucie County, Florida. Both units are Combustion Engineering pressurized water reactors. Florida Power & Light commissioned Unit 1 in 1976 and Unit 2 in 1983 and continues to operate the station. Minor shares of Unit 2 are owned by the Florida Municipal Power Agency (8.81%) and the Orlando Utilities Commission (6.08%). The plant contains two nuclear reactors in separate containment buildings, and uses nearby ocean water for cooling. The construction of Unit 2, in 59 months and for $1.42B (1984 USD), has been cited as being partly due to successful project management. Florida Power & Light created a structure which "consisted of both FPL and Ebasco personnel integrated into one organization" . In 2003 the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) extended the operating licenses of the St. Lucie units by twenty years, to March 1, 2036 for Unit 1 and April 6, 2043 for Unit 2. In 2021 an application was filed with the NRC for a subsequent 20 year license renewal. Extended power update In 2012, Extended Power Update modifications were completed, increasing the electric output from approximately 853 MW to 1,002 MW. The project involved replacing pipes, valves, pumps, heat exchangers, electrical transformers, and generators, some of which were original components of the plant. Electricity production Surrounding population The Nuclear Regulatory Commission defines two emergency planning zones around nuclear power plants: a plume exposure pathway zone with a radius of 10 miles (16 km), concerned primarily with exposure to, and inhalation of, airborne radioactive contamination, and an ingestion pathway zone of about 50 miles (80 km), concerned primarily with ingestion of food and liquid contaminated by radioactivity. The 2010 U.S. population within 10 miles (16 km) of Saint Lucie was 206,596, an increase of 49.7 percent in a decade, according to an analysis of U.S. Census data for msnbc.com. The 2010 U.S. population within 50 miles (80 km) was 1,271,947, an increase of 37.0 percent since 2000. Cities within 50 miles include Port St. Lucie (7.8 miles to city center), Ft. Pierce (8 miles to city center), Stuart (10.4 miles to city center), and West Palm Beach (42 miles to city center). Seismic risk The Nuclear Regulatory Commission's estimate of the risk each year of an earthquake intense enough to cause core damage to the reactor at Saint Lucie was 1 in 21,739, according to an NRC study published in August 2010. Hurricane risk In 2016 St. Lucie Power Plant shut down because of Hurricane Matthew. In 2017 the plant did not shut down due to Hurricane Irma. Turtle conservation and barrier nets Conservation efforts to promote sea turtles are conducted with federal (National Marine Fisheries Service, NMFS) and state agencies (Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Committee, FFWCC ). The plant is granted a marine turtle permit by FFWCC and authorized to conduct turtle activities such as: net capture, tagging, nesting surveys, hand capture, nest relocation, rescue, and release of hatchlings, stranding and salvage activities. Five species of sea turtles inhabit Florida waters; loggerhead, green, leatherback, hawksbill, and Kemp’s ridley sea turtles. Every year, around 800-950 sea turtles, many juvenile, enter the offshore intake structures, and pass through one of three 12- to 16-foot diameter pipes which run approximately 3/4 mile (3–5 minutes) toward the start of the plant's intake canal. Turtles that enter the canal must be removed manually through a capture program. In 1978, an 8-inch square mesh barrier net was erected east of the A1A bridge to restrict the movement of turtles moving down the canal system towards the plant. A 10-inch UIDS (Underwater intrusion detection system) barrier net was added downstream in the canal near the intake wells. In January 1996, responding to a larger number of small green turtles entering the intake system, a 5-inch square mesh barrier net was added upstream and east of the 8-inch net. Turtles that are captured are documented and returned to the ocean. See also List of power stations in Florida References External links FPL's About St. Lucie "St. Lucie Nuclear Power Plant, Florida". U.S. Department of Energy (DOE). September 15, 2008. Retrieved 2008-11-17.: CS1 maint: deprecated archival service (link) "Saint Lucie 1 Pressurized Water Reactor". Operating Nuclear Power Reactors. U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC). February 14, 2008. Retrieved 2008-11-17. "Saint Lucie 2 Pressurized Water Reactor". Operating Nuclear Power Reactors. NRC. February 14, 2008. Retrieved 2008-11-17.