Nuclear Street - Nuclear Power Plant News, Jobs, and Careers

Hot water and algae blooms have threatened to shut down two of Florida's power reactors in the middle of the high-demand summer season.

The Miami Herald reported last week that temperatures in discharge canals at Turkey Point have recently hovered between 94 and 99 degrees, nearly reaching the 100-degree limit that would require the plant to power down. In response, Florida Power and Light has asked the Nuclear Regulatory Commission to allow operation with the canal water at up to 104 degrees. The utility also requested permission from state and local regulators to use groundwater to cool the canals and herbicides to control algae blooms that have proliferated in the heat. The plant has received permission to pump up to 14 million gallons daily into the canals from the Floridan aquifer, as well as approval for up to 90 days of herbicide use. As of Friday morning, both units were operating at full power.

The Westinghouse reactors south of Miami generate roughly 1,600 megawatts. They draw water from Biscayne Bay and discharge it into 168 miles of interconnected canals to avoid discharging heated water directly into the bay. Complicating matters further, plant opponents blame high-salinity water in the canals for salt water incursion into an underlying aquifer – a charge FPL denies.