Duke Energy cancels Florida nuke facility that has similarities to Vogtle project

Duke Energy cancels Florida nuke facility that has similarities to Vogtle project
By Tom Crawford, The Georgia Report, Aug. 2, 2013

Duke Energy told the Florida Public Service Commission it is canceling the construction of two nuclear reactors in Levy County northwest of Orlando that have been plagued by massive cost overruns and schedule delays.

The energy conglomerate said Thursday it is killing the project after spending nearly $1 billion on what would have been the first nuclear power facility to be built in Florida in more than 25 years.

Instead, Duke Energy said it will build or acquire natural gas-fired power plants to provide electricity for the northwest Florida region.

The Duke Energy project has some parallels to a nuclear generation facility underway in Georgia at Plant Vogtle near Waynesboro, where Georgia Power is in the process of building two nuclear reactors.

In fact, the same model nuclear reactor Georgia Power has contracted to purchase from Westinghouse, the AP1000, was the reactor model that would have been installed in the Levy County nuclear facility.

"We welcome Duke Energy's announcement today that they are seeking approval to cancel the controversial Levy County nuclear reactor project," said Dr. Stephen Smith, executive director of Southern Alliance for Clean Energy (SACE).

"Duke's leadership has taken a fresh look at these unnecessary nuclear projects and has absolutely made the right decision for Florida consumers," Smith said.

Progress Energy Florida proposed the Levy County nuclear plants in 2006 and initially projected they would start generating electricity by 2016.

Duke Energy acquired Progress Energy through a merger last year, by which time it was estimated the Levy County nukes would not begin generating power until 2024, with the cost rising from $10 billion for the two reactors to a range of $19 billion to $24 billion.

The Plant Vogtle reactors, which are owned by Georgia Power and a consortium of EMCs and municipal power companies, were initially projected to cost $14.5 billion to build and would start generating electricity in 2016 and 2017.

In recent months, Georgia Power has disclosed that its share of the costs have increased by $737 million – the cost overruns for all the consortium partners are now estimated at $1.6 billion. The start date for the reactors has also been delayed by more than a year.

Progress and Duke have been allowed by the Florida PSC to collect a monthly "nuclear cost-recovery charge" from their customers. The Georgia PSC has also authorized Georgia Power to collect a similar nuclear surcharge from residential and small business ratepayers for the Vogtle project since 2011.