FPL Completes $3B Uprate Project, Adds 500 MW to Four Nuclear Units

Florida Power & Light Co. (FPL) last week said it had completed a $3 billion five-year-long extended power uprate to add more than 500 MW to its Turkey Point and St. Lucie Nuclear Power Plants in Florida.

The NextEra Energy subsidiary announced completion of the project after it completed uprates at Turkey Point Unit 4 and connected it to Florida’s power grid. Upgrades of Turkey Point Unit 3, located in Miami-Dade County, and St. Lucie Units 1 and 2, located in St. Lucie County, were completed in 2012.

Though final testing will determine precise increases in each unit’s output, FPL estimates that 148 MW was added at St. Lucie Unit 1, 132 MW at St. Lucie Unit 2, and between 115 MW and 123 MW at each Turkey Point unit.

Noting that extended power uprates are "massive, highly-complex engineering projects," FPL said it had surpassed the initial projection of 399 MW for the entire investment at the end of 2012, and that the project was estimated to deliver nearly 30% more capacity than originally projected.

The project involved more than 22 million man hours of work—4 million hours alone of which were dedicated to engineering. It also involved installation of 38,000 feet (more than seven miles) of electric wiring conduit; 288,500 feet (more than 50 miles) of electrical cable, and approximately 16,000 linear feet of pipe (approximately three miles).

FPL’s two reactors (Units 3 and 4) at Turkey Point in Miami-Dade County have been operational since the early 1970s. In the late 1970s and early 1980s, FPL added two more nuclear units in St. Lucie County on Florida’s Treasure Coast. The company received a need determination from the Florida Public Service Commission to implement extended power uprates at all four nuclear units in 2007.

The uprate investment was partly paid with Florida’s nuclear cost recovery framework. "The framework keeps long-term costs down for customers through a pay-as-you-go process that pays off certain development and interest costs before the plant is complete, preventing these costs from compounding additional interest," FPL said in a statement. "Although the so-called ‘advanced’ cost recovery system only accounts for a small portion of a utility’s investment, it produces hundreds of millions of dollars in savings for customers over time."

The Energy Information Administration estimates that since 1977, more than 144 proposals—a combined 6,500 MWe—for nuclear uprates have been approved by the Nuclear Regulatory Commission, and most have already been implemented .

Sources: POWERnews, FPL, EIA

FPL Completes $3B Uprate Project, Adds 500 MW to Four Nuclear Units

Florida Power & Light Co. (FPL) last week said it had completed a $3 billion five-year-long extended power uprate to add more than 500 MW to its Turkey Point and St. Lucie Nuclear Power Plants in Florida.

The NextEra Energy subsidiary announced completion of the project after it completed uprates at Turkey Point Unit 4 and connected it to Florida’s power grid. Upgrades of Turkey Point Unit 3, located in Miami-Dade County, and St. Lucie Units 1 and 2, located in St. Lucie County, were completed in 2012.

Though final testing will determine precise increases in each unit’s output, FPL estimates that 148 MW was added at St. Lucie Unit 1, 132 MW at St. Lucie Unit 2, and between 115 MW and 123 MW at each Turkey Point unit.

Noting that extended power uprates are "massive, highly-complex engineering projects," FPL said it had surpassed the initial projection of 399 MW for the entire investment at the end of 2012, and that the project was estimated to deliver nearly 30% more capacity than originally projected.

The project involved more than 22 million man hours of work—4 million hours alone of which were dedicated to engineering. It also involved installation of 38,000 feet (more than seven miles) of electric wiring conduit; 288,500 feet (more than 50 miles) of electrical cable, and approximately 16,000 linear feet of pipe (approximately three miles).

FPL’s two reactors (Units 3 and 4) at Turkey Point in Miami-Dade County have been operational since the early 1970s. In the late 1970s and early 1980s, FPL added two more nuclear units in St. Lucie County on Florida’s Treasure Coast. The company received a need determination from the Florida Public Service Commission to implement extended power uprates at all four nuclear units in 2007.

The uprate investment was partly paid with Florida’s nuclear cost recovery framework. "The framework keeps long-term costs down for customers through a pay-as-you-go process that pays off certain development and interest costs before the plant is complete, preventing these costs from compounding additional interest," FPL said in a statement. "Although the so-called ‘advanced’ cost recovery system only accounts for a small portion of a utility’s investment, it produces hundreds of millions of dollars in savings for customers over time."

The Energy Information Administration estimates that since 1977, more than 144 proposals—a combined 6,500 MWe—for nuclear uprates have been approved by the Nuclear Regulatory Commission, and most have already been implemented .

Sources: POWERnews, FPL, EIA