6 Apr (NucNet): The US Nuclear Regulatory Commission has authorised its staff to issue combined licences for Florida Power and Light to build and operate two Westinghouse AP1000 reactors at its Turkey Point site, about 30km south of Miami.
The Commission authorised its office of new reactors to issue the licences after conducting a hearing in December 2017. The Commission found the staff’s review of FPL’s application adequate to make the necessary regulatory safety and environmental findings. The staff expects to issue the licences in the next few days, the NRC said.
FPL applied for permission to build and operate two AP1000 reactors next to the two existing Turkey Point reactors, Turkey Point-3 and -4. FPL submitted the application in June 2009. The NRC certified the 1,100-megawatt AP1000 design in 2011.
The NRC’s advisory committee on reactor safeguards independently reviewed aspects of the application that concern safety. The committee also reviewed the staff’s final safety evaluation report.
The NRC completed its environmental review and issued the final impact statement for the proposed reactors in October 2016.
In February FPL announced plans to file an application for a second 20-year licence renewal for Turkey Point-3 and -4, taking the units’ total operational lifetimes to 80 years.
FPL said it had already invested more than $1bn to upgrade Turkey Point’s two 802-MW pressurised water reactor units in recent years, adding approximately 250 MW of new capacity.
