Progress Energy turns out lights on Crystal River nuclear plant

[thelakelander]

So long....

Ending months of debate and uncertainty, Progress Energy Florida said Tuesday it will permanently shut down a damaged Crystal River nuclear plant that has not generated electricity since 2009.

Progress and its parent company, Duke Energy, rejected the possibility of making costly repairs and decided to begin a decades-long process that ultimately will lead to dismantling the plant and decontaminating the site. The situation, which began with a crack in a containment building at the plant, is unprecedented in Florida.

“We believe the decision to retire the nuclear plant is in the best overall interests of our customers, investors, the state of Florida and our company,” Jim Rogers, chairman, president and CEO of Duke Energy, said in a prepared statement. “This has been an arduous process of modeling, engineering, analysis and evaluation over many months. The decision was very difficult, but it is the right choice.”

State Public Counsel J.R. Kelly, whose office represents consumers in utility issues, said he had hoped Progress would repair the plant, so long as it was feasible financially and from an engineering standpoint. He said he feels for Progress employees who will have to find jobs elsewhere and for Citrus County, which will lose a large chunk of its tax base.

full article: http://www.bizjournals.com/jacksonville/news/2013/02/05/progress-energy-closes-nuke-plant.html

[BridgeTroll]

Seems to make sense... it cost 400 million to build... and an estimated 1.5 to 3.4 billion to repair.  Replacing the 840 MW generated by the plant seems to have gone seemlessly by burning extra coal...

[Dog Walker]

Next time someone tells you that nuclear power is cheap and clean, just point them at this white elephant.  The article says that the clean-up of this site from radiation is going to take 60 YEARS! and cost hundreds of millions.  Now take that cost and the cost of security, etc. and spread it back over all of the kilowatt hours this plant has ever produced.

Not cheap power anymore.  What do you do with thousands of tons of radioactive concrete?  Not so clean anymore either.

I think the nuclear plant at Rincon, Puerto Rico, one of the first built, is still not cleaned up and it has been closed for at least forty years.

[BridgeTroll]

For instance, natural gas prices have dropped by more than a third in the last five years, while oil has more than doubled. JEA now produces more than half of its power from natural gas and will try to determine what fuel will be the most cost-effective and environmentally safe in a couple of decades.

Natural gas is the clear choice...

[JHAT76]

Its a good thing that JEA is actively planning on converting to nuclear, then.  I wonder if the South Carolina company referenced is Progress?

Yes.  Although, Progress is now part of Duke Energy so google Duke Energy Lee Nuclear Station is you want info on that one.

[JHAT76]

Its a good thing that JEA is actively planning on converting to nuclear, then.  I wonder if the South Carolina company referenced is Progress?

Yes.  Although, Progress is now part of Duke Energy so google Duke Energy Lee Nuclear Station is you want info on that one.

So, I wonder if the JEA customers are going to have to take a bath from these losses or if they didnt manage to buy any shares of it?

I think that the Nuke expansion is a legacy of Walt Bussells isn't it?

JEA and their customers have no losses from Crystal River.  That is Progress Energy Florida (now Duke Energy) problem.  If anything JEA could sell power to PEF/Duke to offset their (see PEF/Duke) loss of generation.

JEA at this point and to my knowledge is planning on purchasing power from new nuclear generation in Georgia and right now only has an option to be a part of new nuclear generation in South Carolina.

This from their website:

Nuclear purchase agreements. Adding power from nuclear sources to our portfolio is part of a strategy to make the utility less dependent on fossil fuels. We plan to purchase 200 Megawatts (MW) of power from Municipal Electric Authority of Georgia (MEAG) from a new nuclear facility to be constructed at the existing Plant Vogtle, and slated to be operational by 2018. We will not own the facility, but plan to buy power from the Waynesboro, Georgia plant for 20 years.

In 2011, we reserved the option to acquire partial ownership of two new nuclear units to be constructed at an existing plant owned by Duke Energy located in Cherokee County, South Carolina. If we exercise the option, it would bring enough electricity to power about 175,000 homes in our community in typical conditions.