FPL is seeking approval to build and operate two AP1000 reactors at the site
– By Stephen Heiser –
The Nuclear Regulatory Commission has accepted for review the combined license (COL) application for two Advanced Passive 1000 (AP1000) reactors at the Turkey Point site near Homestead, Fla.
Florida Power and Light (FPL) submitted the application and associated information on June 30. The application, minus proprietary or security-related details, is available on the NRC Web site at: http://www.nrc.gov/reactors/new-reactors/col/turkey-point.html .
FPL is seeking approval to build and operate two AP1000 reactors at the site, approximately 20 miles south of Miami. The AP1000 is a Westinghouse-designed pressurized water reactor, with a nominal output of approximately 1,100 megawatts of electricity. The NRC certified the AP1000 design in January 2006, and Westinghouse filed an application to amend the design on May 26, 2007. The AP1000 amendment application, minus proprietary or security-related details, is available on the NRC Web site at: http://www.nrc.gov/reactors/new-reactors/design-cert/amended-ap1000.html .
Docketing the Turkey Point application does not indicate whether the Commission will approve or reject the license request. The NRC has established docket numbers 52-040 and 52-041 for this application, and the agency will subsequently publish a notice of opportunity to intervene in the required adjudicatory hearing. Petitions to intervene in a hearing may be filed within 60 days of the notice, by anyone whose interest may be affected by the proposed license and who wishes to participate as a party in the proceeding. More information on the hearing process is available on the NRC Web site at: http://www.nrc.gov/about-nrc/regulatory/adjudicatory/hearing.html .
Information about the new reactor licensing process is available on the NRC Web site at: http://www.nrc.gov/reactors/new-reactors.html .