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"Three Nuclear Regulatory Commissioners have upheld the July 2009 ruling by a panel of the Atomic Safety and Licensing Board (ASLB) that is hearing a challenge to two new Progress Energy Florida (PEF) nuclear reactors in Levy County, Florida. Three organizations, the Ecology Party of Florida, Nuclear Information and Resource Service (NIRS) and the Green Party of Florida are representing the interests of members living within a 50 mile radius of the proposed new nuclear site, located in the Florida Nature Coast less than 10 miles from the existing PEF Crystal River Nuclear Power Station. The Levy County reactors are projected to cost $17 billion. The landmark ruling, handed down on Thursday, January 7 in response to an appeal by PEF, affirms that the ASLB will hear very broad concerns raised by the Intervening groups, including impacts of a new nuclear plant on ground and surface waters, endangered species, and environmental and safety issues of generating so-called "low-level" radioactive waste that currently has no off-site disposal option. "

The company submitted a proposal Wednesday to the Florida Public Service Commission to increase base power rates by $1 billion in 2010 and $1.25 billion in 2011. Florida Power & Light proposes increasing electric rates by at least $1 billion a year starting next year. The company submitted a proposal Wednesday to the Florida Public Service Commission to increase base power rates by $1 billion in 2010 and $1.25 billion in 2011. FPL, the state's largest utility with 4.5 million customers, said the increase would allow it to earn a "fair" profit, while making its infrastructure stronger, more efficient and less likely to emit greenhouse-gas emissions.

Progress Energy cleared one of its last hurdles Monday when the Florida Department of Environmental Protection gave the utility permission to continue with its plans for a 2,200 megawatt nuclear power plant in Levy County. The "conditions of certification" report by FDEP was one of the final steps Progress Energy had to clear before starting the $17 billion project. The plant, which is slated for completion in 2017, will generate enough power to serve an estimated 1.4 million Florida homes. Progress Energy already has about 1.7 million Florida customers, with about 62,000 in Marion County and 4,700 in Alachua County. The Levy County plant will pump about 122 million gallons of water per day from the Cross Florida Barge Canal to cool steam created in the process of making electricity.

State regulators Tuesday will weigh whether to allow Florida Power & Light Co. to keep its employees' salaries secret. The Public Service Commission meeting in Tallahassee comes one week before regulators take up FPL's request for a $1.3 billion annual increase in base rates. Florida's five major utilities, including FPL, provided detailed salary information to the commission. But FPL and Progress Energy Florida, based in St. Petersburg, have asked to keep the information private for competitive reasons. A group of 15 employees from FPL - the state's largest utility with 4.5 million customers - hired an attorney this month and said they oppose disclosing salaries for privacy reasons. The First Amendment Foundation and the Office of Public Counsel - the state's advocate for utility customers - said state law requires utilities to make the information public.

State regulators Tuesday will weigh whether to allow Florida Power & Light Co. to keep its employees' salaries secret. The Public Service Commission meeting in Tallahassee comes one week before regulators take up FPL's request for a $1.3 billion annual increase in base rates. Florida's five major utilities, including FPL, provided detailed salary information to the commission. But FPL and Progress Energy Florida, based in St. Petersburg, have asked to keep the information private for competitive reasons. A group of 15 employees from FPL - the state's largest utility with 4.5 million customers - hired an attorney this month and said they oppose disclosing salaries for privacy reasons. The First Amendment Foundation and the Office of Public Counsel - the state's advocate for utility customers - said state law requires utilities to make the information public.

Florida approved a nuclear plant for the first time in more than three decades. The plant would be built in Levy County. TALLAHASSEE -- Over the objections of some residents, elected officials and environmental groups, the governor and the Cabinet on Tuesday embraced Progress Energy's controversial proposal to build a nuclear plant in Levy County -- the first such plant approved in Florida in 33 years. The vote by Gov. Charlie Crist, Attorney General Bill McCollum and Chief Financial Officer Alex Sink is not the final hurdle for Progress' plant, which still needs to secure federal approval. But the unanimous Cabinet endorsement -- with Agriculture Commissioner Charles Bronson absent -- helps cement what is likely to be a new era of nuclear plant construction, with Florida Power & Light also planning to build a new nuclear plant, at Turkey Point in Miami-Dade County.

Opposition to Progress Energy's proposed rate increases continued bubbling up this week amid public hearings across the state. Among the latest opponents: Mark Cooper, an economist and author on the financing of nuclear power reactors. Cooper told the Florida Public Service Commission that it is "not prudent" to proceed with plans for building new Progress Energy nuclear reactors in Levy County and a similar Florida Power & Light project near Miami. Cooper estimated it would cost $1.9 trillion to $4.1 trillion more over the life of 100 new nuclear reactors than it would to generate the same electricity from a combination of more energy efficiency and renewables. Separately, the business-affiliated group Associated Industries of Florida intervened for the first time on a rate case, backing Florida Power and Light's base rate increase. Associated Industries did not take a stance "at this time" on Progress Energy's filings. Progress is seeking to raise its base rates 30 percent and wants to add roughly $3 to the average monthly bill to help pay for its planned nuclear plant. On Thursday, community hearings were held in St. Petersburg and Clearwater. Hearings continue Friday in Inverness and Ocala and wrap up next week before the issue heads to the PSC.

Cara Campbell of Fort Lauderdale, chairwoman of the Ecology Party of Florida, said today her group is intervening in an attempt to halt approval and construction of two nuclear reactors in the state. The party has filed as a co-intervener on the issue of two proposed nuclear rectors in rural Levy County, on the west coast of Florida. Here's Campbell's statement: The Ecology Party of Florida is unwavering in its advocacy of the precautionary principle and nuclear power is proven unsafe. We believe energy conservation as well as other alternative energy options would preclude building these dangerous new reactors.

"* To suspend $10 bln in investment over next 5 years * Cites deteriorating regulatory environment in Florida * Progress Energy sees similar regulatory action * FPL shares off 3 pct, Progress shares edge up - FPL Group Inc, owner of the largest utility in Florida, said it would halt spending on projects in the state representing about $10 billion of investment over the next five years because of a deteriorating regulatory environment. The Florida Public Service Commission on Wednesday unanimously rejected FPL's request to raise its base rates by 30 percent, or $1.3 billion, and instead allowed an increase of $75.4 million."

The Florida Public Service Commission on Friday agreed to let the state's two largest utilities collect more than $270 million from ratepayers next year as a down payment to develop new nuclear plants expected to come online in the next decade. The commission will allow FPL Group's (FPL.N) Florida Power & Light Co to recover nearly $62.7 million in costs related to construction of two proposed nuclear reactors, Turkey Point Units 6 and 7, and work to increase output at its existing nuclear units, Turkey Point Units 3 and 4 and St. Lucie Units 1 and 2, the commission said in a release. FPL is the state's largest utility with 4.5 million customers.

The Florida Public Service Commission on Friday agreed to let the state's two largest utilities collect more than $270 million from ratepayers next year as a down payment to develop new nuclear plants expected to come online in the next decade. The commission will allow FPL Group's (FPL.N) Florida Power & Light Co to recover nearly $62.7 million in costs related to construction of two proposed nuclear reactors, Turkey Point Units 6 and 7, and work to increase output at its existing nuclear units, Turkey Point Units 3 and 4 and St. Lucie Units 1 and 2, the commission said in a release. FPL is the state's largest utility with 4.5 million customers.

he U.S. Department of Labor on February 4 announced that it has paid more than $100 million in compensation and medical benefits to Florida residents under the Energy Employees Occupational Illness Compensation Program Act (EEOICPA). The act was created to assist those individuals who became ill as a result of working in the atomic weapons industry. Survivors of such individuals may also be eligible for benefits. Since the implementation of the act, the Labor Department has paid 48,510 claimants more than $4.5 billion in compensation and medical benefits nationwide. "We are extremely proud of having compensated so many deserving Florida residents," said Rachel P. Leiton, director of the department's Division of Energy Employees Occupational Illness Compensation Program (DEEOIC). "This milestone further demonstrates DEEOIC's commitment to assisting those Cold War workers who served this nation in building its nuclear defense programs. But we also believe there may be other Floridians who have not yet filed for these benefits, including many who worked at nuclear weapons facilities elsewhere and later retired in Florida. These individuals are urged to contact the U.S. Department of Labor at 866-666-4606 to inquire about their potential eligibility."

Florida's energy future should be "clean" - not just "renewable" - and include nuclear power as a source of green energy, according to recommendations from the staff of utility regulators released Wednesday. The 111-page report is the latest step in the debate over whether power companies can count new nuclear power toward their obligation to generate renewable energy. The report follows months of lobbying by Florida Power & Light - the state's largest utility and producer of nuclear power - to persuade regulators to create a "Clean Energy Portfolio Standard" rather than a "Renewable Portfolio Standard." Florida statues do not include nuclear power in the definition of "renewable" energy. FPL generates no renewable energy in Florida.

Progress Energy Florida, Inc. Acceptance for Docketing of an Application for Combined License for Levy County Nuclear Power Plant Units 1 and 2 By letter dated July 28, 2008, Progress Energy Florida, Inc. (PEF) submitted an application to the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) for a combined license (COL) for two AP1000 advanced passive pressurized water reactors in accordance with the requirements contained in 10 CFR 52, ``Licenses, Certifications and Approvals for Nuclear Power Plants.'' These reactors will be identified as Levy Nuclear Power Plant (LNP) Units 1 and 2 and located at a site in Levy County, Florida. A notice of receipt and availability of this application is currently awaiting publication in the Federal Register.

Florida Power and Light Company; Notice of Issuance of Amendment to Renewed Facility Operating License and Final Determination of No Significant Hazards Consideration (TAC Nos. MD9229 and MD9330) The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC or Commission) has issued Amendment Nos. 238 and 233 to Facility Operating License Nos. DPR-31 and DPR-41, respectively, issued to Florida Power and Light Company (the licensee), which revised the Technical Specifications (TSs) for operation of the Turkey Point Nuclear Plant, Units 3 and 4, located in Miami-Dade County, Florida. The amendment was effective as of the date of its issuance.

After more than two million pounds of nuclear waste has piled up in South Dade over 35 years, Florida Power & Light is quietly seeking a zoning change to allow six acres of its Turkey Point site to be used for new above-ground storage casks. Environmentalists have known for a long time FPL planned to use casks but they knew little, if anything, about the need for a zoning change, which generally allows for public discussion that could lead to modifications of the utility's plans. ''It's news to me,'' said Lloyd Miller of the South Florida National Parks Trust. ''Haven't heard a thing,'' said Mark Oncavage, who follows South Florida energy issues for the Sierra Club. ``I definitely think we should have a say in this.''

The federal Atomic Safety and Licensing Board on Wednesday granted standing to three petitioners who challenged the proposed Progress Energy Florida nuclear power plant in Levy County and will hear arguments on three of their legal arguments on why the plant shouldn't be built. The Green Party of Florida, the Ecology Party of Florida and the Nuclear Information and Resource Service argue:: *Progress Energy's environmental report inappropriately characterized as small certain impacts in building and operating the facility, including impacts to wetlands, the underlying Floridan aquifer system and the Withlacoochee and Waccasassa rivers, among other issues. *The environmental report assumes certain radioactive waste will be promptly shipped offsite and fails to address the environmental impacts if waste must be managed for a longer period. *The safety analysis report makes the same assumption about shipping and handling radioactive waste.

A battle between clean energy and renewable energy is about to ensue in the state Legislature. Sen. Lee Constantine, R-Altamonte Springs, has introduced Senate Bill 2490, a measure requiring that 20 percent of the power provided by Florida electric utilities be made with renewable resources such as wind and solar. The standard is supported by Gov. Charlie Crist and recommended by the Florida Public Service Commission. Sen. Charlie Dean, R-Inverness, recently introduced an alternative measure, SB 2328, that would require utilities to get 20 percent of their power from clean energy sources, including nuclear, by 2020. Progress Energy and Florida Power & Light, the state's largest producers of nuclear power, have lobbied hard for a clean standard.

The Florida Senate's Committee on Communications, Energy and Public Utilities late Tuesday passed a bill with a "clean energy portfolio standard" that establishes a 20%-by-2021 goal for power from generation that does not produce greenhouse gases, and permits up to one quarter of the goal to be met by either nuclear plants or integrated gasification/combined-cycle plants with carbon capture and sequestration. The bill, SB 1154, which was introduced by Senator Jim King, the Republican committee chairman from Jacksonville, sets a 7% "CEPS" goal for 2013, rising to 12% in 2016, 18% in 2019 and 20% in 2021. The bill permits the Florida Public Service Commission to "excuse" a utility from compliace with the CEPS if the supply of clean energy or clean energy credits is not adequate, or if compliance would raise customer rates by more than 2%.

A group of activists is raising concerns over two new reactors at Turkey Point while Florida Power & Light assures residents that the nuclear plant is safe. Over the past year, a chorus of concern about Florida Power & Light's push to expand its Turkey Point facility has steadily grown louder.

A group of activists is raising concerns over two new reactors at Turkey Point while Florida Power & Light assures residents that the nuclear plant is safe. Over the past year, a chorus of concern about Florida Power & Light's push to expand its Turkey Point facility has steadily grown louder.

Florida Power & Light is studying a delay in construction of two proposed nuclear reactors in Florida and may reconsider seeking a federal loan guarantee, Moray Dewhurst, vice chairman of the utility's parent FPL Group (FPL.N), said on Thursday. In January, Juno Beach, Florida-based FPL said it would halt spending on projects in the state representing about $10 billion of investment over the next five years because of a negative regulatory ruling in the utility's rate case. The company is expected to outline exactly how it will pare its capital program in the second quarter. "

"The Public Service Commission voted unanimously Tuesday to require Florida Power & Light Co. to refund $13.9 million, including interest, to customers for costs related to a 2008 outage that left as many as 3 million Floridians without electricity. That will offset fuel costs for customers next year by about 14 cents a month for those who use about 1,000 kilowatt hours. About 950,000 Florida homes and businesses, including 596,000 FPL customers, lost power Feb. 26, 2008. The outage lasted several hours and was blamed on an FPL engineer, whose actions accidentally triggered the blackout. The incident tripped off two nuclear units at the Turkey Point plant near Miami, as they are designed to do for safety reasons."