Tuesday, September 18, 2007

FPL Files for Turkey Point Expansion by Geniusofdespair

No news to me but it is finally official: FPL files to expand Turkey Point plant: If expansion plans go forward, FPL's South Miami-Dade plant would rank among the country's largest nuclear-generating sites. The article states:

"The hunt for a new nuclear site intensified in June, when the PSC rejected a 1,900-megawatt coal-burning plant in Glades County near Lake Okeechobee. Environmentalists mounted a major campaign against it, charging the pollution could harm Everglades wildlife and air quality and exacerbate global warming. Crist, who is campaigning to reduce statewide greenhouse emissions, also expressed concerns."

The vote to deny the Glades Coal Plant by the Public Service Commission was June 5th. The letter to nearby residents of Turkey Point went out June 20th. (see letter in yesterday's post). Hmmm. That was pretty quick don't you think? I always thought the Glades coal plant idea was a red herring. The article states further:

Mark Oncavage, a Miami Sierra Club activist, said the utility shouldn't expect smooth sailing by touting nuclear power as a ''green'' alternative to coal. ''I think there is going to be quite a fight,'' he said.

Reporter Curtis Morgan also states:

There also could be heightened concerns from terrorist attacks, accidents, hurricanes and growing stockpiles of potentially lethal radioactive waste.

And Morgan reported:

The utility on Monday asked the Florida Public Service Commission for permission to overhaul and increase generating capacity for two existing reactors at the South Miami-Dade County site, as well as two others in St. Lucie County, by 2012.

FPL also announced it intends to seek approval to add two new nuclear units at Turkey Point by 2025. If approved, that would make the power complex on the mangrove coastline of Biscayne Bay among the first sites in the country with four operating reactors.

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