Turkey Point Nuclear Generating Station
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| Turkey Point Nuclear Generating Station | |
|---|---|
| Data | |
| Country |  United States |
| Location | Homestead, Florida |
| Coordinates | 25°26′3″N 80°19′50″W / 25.43417°N 80.33056°WCoordinates: 25°26′3″N 80°19′50″W / 25.43417°N 80.33056°W |
| Operator | Florida Power & Light |
| Start of commercial operation | Unit 3: December 14, 1972 Unit 4: September 7, 1973 |
| Reactors | |
| Reactor supplier | Westinghouse |
| Reactor type | pressurized water reactor |
| Reactors active | 2 (1,386 MW) |
| Reactors planned | 2 (2,234 MW) |
| Power | |
| Total power generation in 2007 | 11,227 GW·h |
| Status | Operating |
| Generators | Westinghouse |
| Other details | |
| Architect | Bechtel |
| License expires | Unit 3: July 19, 2032 Unit 4: April 10, 2033 |
| NRC region | Region 2 |
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As of 2008-11-16
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| NRC Region Two (South) |
|---|
| Alabama |
| Bellefonte* Browns Ferry Farley |
| Florida |
| Crystal River 3 St. Lucie Turkey Point |
| Georgia |
| Hatch Vogtle |
| North Carolina |
| Brunswick McGuire Shearon Harris |
| South Carolina |
| Catawba Oconee H.B. Robinson Summer |
| Tennessee |
| Sequoyah Watts Bar Phipps Bend* CRBR* Hartsville* |
| Virginia |
| North Anna Surry |
|
* unfinished |
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Turkey Point Nuclear Generating Station is a twin reactor nuclear power station located on a 3,300-acre (13 km²) site 2 miles east of Homestead, Florida, United States, next to Biscayne National Park located about 25 miles (40 kilometers) south of Miami, Florida near the southernmost edge of Miami-Dade County. It is home to a wildlife preserve, helping the population of the American crocodile.[1] Turkey Point has been a contributing force to the reclassification of the American Crocodile from endangered to threatened.[2]
Turkey Point is owned by Florida Power & Light.
Contents |
Turkey Point comprises two 400-megawatt oil/natural gas-fired generation units (Units 1 and 2) and two Westinghouse pressurized water reactors (Units 3 and 4), each supplying steam to one high pressure and two low-pressure turbines with a power output rated at 693 MWe for each unit. In 2007, it added the 1,150 MW combined-cycle gas-fired Unit 5.[3] It serves the entire southern portion of Florida.
[edit] Expansion
In 2002, the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) extended the operating licenses for both nuclear reactors from forty years to sixty. In 2006, FPL informed the NRC that they planned to apply for new units to be built at Turkey Point. FPL filed an initial proposal for increased capacity with the Florida Public Service Commission in October, 2007.[4] The proposal was approved by the PSC in March 2008.[5]
FPL also plans to spend about $1.5 billion to increase the capacity of its existing four reactors at Turkey Point and the St. Lucie Nuclear Power Plant by a total of about 400 MW by 2012.[6]
On June 30, 2009, FPL submitted a Combined Construction and Operating License (COL) application for two 1,117-MWe Westinghouse AP1000 reactors (Units 6 and 7).[7] FPL had considered building two 1,550-MWe GE ESBWR reactors.[3] Construction is expected to begin in 2012, with the new units going online in 2017 and 2019. FPL estimates the total overnight costs of the power plants, including first fuel load, at $6.8–$9.9 billion, and the total project cost at $12.1–$17.8 billion.[8]
[edit] Incident history
On 08-May-1974 a test was performed on all three of the Emergency Feedwater (EFW) pumps serving Unit 3 while the reactor was operating at power. Two of the pumps failed to start as a result of over-tightened packing. The third pump failed to start because of a malfunction in the turbine regulating valve pneumatic controller. (ref NRC LER 250/74-LTR) In an on-going study (ref NRC Commission Document SECY-05-0192 Attachment 2 NRC.gov) of "precursors" that could lead to a nuclear disaster if additional failures were to have occurred, the NRC concluded (as of 24-Oct-2005) that this event at Turkey Point Unit 3 was the fifth highest ranked occurrence (fourth highest if one omits the event at the Three Mile Island Nuclear Generating Station).
In 1992, Turkey Point was directly hit by Hurricane Andrew, causing over $90 million (1992 dollars) in damage, mainly to a water tank and to a smokestack of one of the fossil-fueled units on-site. No damage was done to the plant's containment buildings.[9][10] The plant was built to withstand winds of up to 235 mph (380 km/h), greatly exceeding the maximum winds recorded by category 5 hurricanes.
In 2006, Florida Power & Light, the Nuclear Regulatory Commission, and the Federal Bureau of Investigation investigated the discovery of a small hole drilled into a pipe that helps maintain pressure inside the reactor.[11] This incident took place during a refueling outage when the reactor was not powered, and was quickly identified during power-up testing. The 3/16" hole was drilled into a 3" stainless steel schedule 160 pipe that would hold 600-degree-Fahrenheit reactor coolant water at 2235 psi under normal operation.
In 2008 (see 2008 Florida electricity blackout below) the senior nuclear supervisor (senior management designee with a license) was pressured to re-start Turkey Point's two reactors while they were in a condition which his judgment made it unsafe to do so. Upper management wanted the reactors started prior to peak Xenon, which would have caused the operators at the controls to continuously either step rods in, or borate during an up-power; an unstable and undesirable situation. The supervisor resigned and Florida Power and Light sued him for the return of a bonus, causing him to counter-sue in 2009 on the basis that the required maneuver was unsafe.[12][13]
[edit] 2008 Florida electricity blackout
On February 26, 2008, both reactors were shut down due to the loss of off-site power during a widespread power outage in South Florida currently affecting 700,000 customers.[14]
At least 2.5 million people were without power. The blackout was initially caused by an overheated voltage switch that soon caught fire in a power substation in Miami, nowhere near the plant. The fire occurred at 1:08 pm which caused an automatic shutdown of the power plant. This led to a domino effect that caused outages as far north as Daytona Beach and Tampa. Power was restored by 4:30 pm. The reason this malfunction caused such widespread outages is still under investigation.[14]
Walt Disney World, Orlando International Airport, and Miami International Airport were among the places affected by the outage.[15]
[edit] References
- ^ ""About Turkey Point"". FPL.com. Florida Power & Light. http://www.fpl.com/environment/nuclear/about_turkey_point.shtml. Retrieved 2007-07-25.
- ^ CBS News. Endangered Crocs Make A Comeback.
- ^ a b "FPL Fla. Turkey Point 4 reactor shut". Reuters. October 13, 2008. http://www.reuters.com/article/rbssUtilitiesElectric/idUSN1344614220081013. Retrieved 2008-11-16.
- ^ "FPL moves to add nuclear plants in S. Dade". Miami Herald. October 17, 2007. http://www.miamiherald.com/business/story/274048.html. Retrieved 2007-10-23.
- ^ John Dorschner; Curtis Morgan (2008-03-19). "FPL reactor proposal advances". The Miami Herald. http://www.miamiherald.com/982/story/492423.html. Retrieved 2008-07-15.
- ^ "FPL Fla. Turkey Point 4 reactor back at full power". Reuters. June 1, 2009. http://www.reuters.com/article/rbssUtilitiesElectric/idUSN0144937320090601?dbi=1. Retrieved 2009-07-22.
- ^ "Turkey Point, Units 6 and 7 Application". Combined License Applications for New Reactors. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC). July 2, 2009. http://www.nrc.gov/reactors/new-reactors/col/turkey-point.html. Retrieved 2009-07-22.
- ^ "Application for Florida reactors". World Nuclear News. 23 July 2009. http://www.world-nuclear-news.org/NN_Application_for_Florida_reactors_2307092.html. Retrieved 2009-07-22.
- ^ ""NRC Information Notice 93-53: Effect of Hurricane Andrew on Turkey Point Nuclear Generating Station and Lessons Learned"". NRC.gov. Nuclear Regulatory Commission. July 20, 1993. http://www.nrc.gov/reading-rm/doc-collections/gen-comm/info-notices/1993/in93053.html. Retrieved 2007-07-25.
- ^ ""NRC Information Notice 93-53, Supplement 1: Effect of Hurricane Andrew on Turkey Point Nuclear Generating Station and Lessons Learned"". NRC.gov. Nuclear Regulatory Commission. April 29, 1994. http://www.nrc.gov/reading-rm/doc-collections/gen-comm/info-notices/1993/in93053s1.html. Retrieved 2007-07-25.
- ^ "Small Hole in Pipe at Nuclear Plant". New York Times. April 2, 2006. http://www.nytimes.com/2006/04/02/us/02plant.html. Retrieved 2007-07-25.
- ^ "Court papers reveal nuclear feud at Turkey Point". The Miami Herald. March 12, 2009. http://www.miamiherald.com/457/story/945615.html. Retrieved 2009-03-18.
- ^ "Court papers: Nuclear feud at Fla. plant". UPI.com. March 12, 2009. http://www.upi.com/Top_News/2009/03/12/Court_papers_Nuclear_feud_at_Fla_plant/UPI-18051236894387/. Retrieved 2009-03-18.
- ^ a b "FPL Fla, Turkey Pt reactors shut due to power outage". Reuters. February 26, 2008. http://www.reuters.com/article/rbssFinancialServicesAndRealEstateNews/idUSN2635797520080226. Retrieved 2008-02-26.
- ^ Reasons For Blackout In Central, Southern Florida Remain A Mystery - News Story - WFTV Orlando
[edit] External links
- "Turkey Point Nuclear Generating Station, Florida". U.S. Department of Energy (DOE). August 22, 2008. http://www.eia.doe.gov/cneaf/nuclear/page/at_a_glance/reactors/turkeypoint.html. Retrieved 2008-11-16.
- "Turkey Point 3 Pressurized Water Reactor". Operating Nuclear Power Reactors. U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC). February 14, 2008. http://www.nrc.gov/info-finder/reactor/tp3.html. Retrieved 2008-11-16.
- "Turkey Point 4 Pressurized Water Reactor". Operating Nuclear Power Reactors. NRC. February 14, 2008. http://www.nrc.gov/info-finder/reactor/tp4.html. Retrieved 2008-11-16.
- FP&L might be fined over nuclear plant security
