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The Nuclear Regulatory Commission announced today that an application for a 20-year renewal of the operating license for the Duane Arnold nuclear power plant is available for public review. The Duane Arnold Energy Center has one boiling water reactor, and is located 8 miles northwest of Cedar Rapids, Iowa. The current operating license expires Feb. 21, 2014. Duane Arnold's operator, the FPL Energy Duane Arnold, LLC, submitted the application Oct. 1. The application is available on the NRC Web site at this address: http://www.nrc.gov/reactors/operating/licensing/renewal/applications/duane-arnold-energy-center.html. A copy is also available at the Hiawatha Public Library, 150 W. Willman St., in Hiawatha, Iowa. The NRC staff is currently conducting its initial review of the application to determine whether it contains sufficient information required for the safety and environmental reviews. If the application has sufficient information, the NRC will formally "docket," or file it and will announce an opportunity for the public to request an adjudicatory hearing on the renewal request. Additional information about the NRC's process for reviewing reactor license renewal applications is available on the NRC Web site at: http://www.nrc.gov/reactors/operating/licensing/renewal.html.

Information unveiled this week raises troubling questions about a 2006 act of vandalism at Florida Power & Light Co.'s Turkey Point nuclear power plant - vandalism that has already cost utility customers $6.2 million. A sheet metal worker suspected of drilling a tiny hole in a pressurized pipe was authorized to work there despite a history of scrapes with the law, including a DUI conviction, and, according to FBI documents, failing FPL's standard psychological screening test. The man worked at the plant in 2006, when someone drilled a one-eighth-inch hole in the pipe, according to testimony this week before the Florida Public Service Commission in Tallahassee.

was startled and dismayed to learn that Gov. Jim Doyle accepted nearly $24,000 from Florida Power & Light executives a few weeks before weakening his opposition to nuclear power in Wisconsin. FPL is the current owner of the atomic power station located at Point Beach. Of course a Doyle spokesperson described the idea of a quid pro quo as being "ridiculous," but the timing remains highly suspicious.

Florida Power & Light officials told state regulators today that nuclear power should join solar and wind as a renewable energy source in Florida. "I think the goal, the intent is to have the most material impact on greenhouse gases," said Eric E. Silagy, FPL's chief development officer in explaining why Florida's Public Service Commission should reconsider the definition. Since nuclear power plants do not burn fuel, there are virtually no air emissions, such as greenhouse gases that may contribute to global warming, according to FPL's Web site.

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission Region III office in Lisle, Illinois, has activated its Incident Response Center to monitor an Unusual Event declared at the Duane Arnold Nuclear Plan triggered by the loss of three major sources of telecommunications at the station due to rising floodwaters. The plant, operated by FPL Energy, is located in Palo, Iowa. The plant is in a stable condition at 100 percent power. There have been no unplanned radioactive releases. State and local officials have been informed.

Florida Power and Light filed with the Public Service Commission a request to recover costs incurred so far on two key nuclear projects: expansion of the power capacity at our nuclear power plants at Turkey Point and St. Lucie, and the addition of two nuclear units at the Turkey Point power plant complex. If approved by the Public Service Commission, beginning January 2009 consumer electric bills may increase by slightly more than 2 percent.

The 168-mile-long loop of canals that cool the twin nuclear reactors at Turkey Point was dug in the 1970s to avoid pumping billions of gallons of damaging hot water into Biscayne Bay. More than 30 years later, the solution to one environmental problem has emerged as a prime suspect in another -- an underground saltwater wedge that has pushed miles inland from Florida Power & Light's bayside plant. Regulators don't yet know the size of the salty plume, but preliminary studies suggest a leading edge has marched far enough east, just past the Homestead Miami Speedway, to pose risks to drinking-water wells for Keys and Homestead residents and Everglades restoration projects intended to revive historic freshwater flows to the bay.

Wake up and good morning. Is the nuclear power industry's renaissance getting backburnered? After a flurry of activity and 26 high-profile deals announced in recent years to build a new generation of nuclear power plants, fresh doubts are emerging. That's important to Florida where two nuclear power projects intended to generate electricity -- one by Progress Energy in Levy County north of Tampa Bay and another by FPL Group in south Florida -- have been in the fast lane but are starting to hit some bumps. A Dow Jones story suggests (subscription required) the U.S. nuclear power sector may have a "few more years in the dark ages" before its long-promised resurgence. Despite nuclear power's improved image, its rising appeal as an alternative to air-polluting coal- and oil-fired power plants, and President Barack Obama's saying nuclear has a place in any plan to reduce greenhouse-gas emissions by 80 percent by 2050, nukes are still struggling to win complete government and market support.

"Pictured here is the stainless steel vessel of a nuclear reactor employed in a pressurized water system at commercial nuclear power plants like the Florida Power & Light Company (FPL), Turkey Point Nuclear Plant (TPN). Near the center of the nuclear reactor vessel you can see large welds which were made during the construction of this particular nuclear reactor vessel. The large weld which is near the center and extends around the vessel is called the "belt-line" weld."

Florida regulators on Tuesday approved plans to allow the state's two largest utilities to collect more than $600 million next year in costs for new nuclear plants expected to be online in eight to 10 years. "We are encouraging utility investment in nuclear electric generation today to ensure Florida's residents have reliable power for tomorrow," said Matthew M. Carter II, chairman of the Florida Public Service Commission.

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.

Florida Power and Light is looking to uprate three of its nuclear plants: St. Lucie, Turkey Point and Point Beach. FP&L Director of Nuclear Fuel Services Claude Villard told the Platts Nuclear Fuel Strategies conference in Arlington, Virginia September 15 that the uprating of its nuclear plants would result in a 10% increase in demand for uranium. He said Turkey Point and St. Lucie are each looking at boosting their generating capacity by 200 MW, with an uprated St. Lucie-1 scheduled to go online in fall 2011 and unit 2 in spring 2012. Turkey Point's uprated unit 3 is slated to begin generating at its increased capacity in spring 2012 and unit 4 in fall 2012. Point Beach is looking to increase capacity by 180 MW.

The Seabrook Station nuclear plant pays almost half of the property taxes in town, but the company that owns the plant is arguing that its $15.3 million tax bill is simply way too much. Florida Power and Light, the company that owns the major portion of the Seabrook nuclear power plant, recently filed an abatement appeal with selectmen over the new taxable value of its facility. According to Seabrook Town Manager Barry Brenner, the town received Florida Power and Light's appeal of the town's new $1.65 billion assessment of the plant on Monday, making the deadline for such abatement appeals. The prior agreed-upon worth of the plant was $1.043 billion, meaning the new value represents an increase of $607 million.

If all goes according to plan, Florida Power & Light later this year will begin building a storage facility for nuclear waste more than two stories above ground at the Turkey Point nuclear power plant. Under the plan, the company would house in dry storage 16 cubic feet of radioactive waste-the equivalent of some 2 million pounds accumulated since the first reactor fired up in 1972. Plans for the dry cask storage facility have sparked controversy because the project has not been aired at public hearings. Instead, the project was moved along quickly and quietly, with the state Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) granting certification on May 18, roughly six weeks after receiving FPL's application and without an opportunity for public input. Without fanfare, the approval slipped the notice of interested parties such as the Sierra Club, the Tropical Audubon Society and Clean Water Action. Miami-Dade County officials and environmentalists maintain the utility company and the regulatory agency did an end run to avoid public scrutiny.