Turkey Point Nuclear Generating Station

Turkey Point Nuclear Generating Station is a twin reactor nuclear power station located on a 3,300 acre (13 km²) site 2 miles east of Homestead, Florida, United States, next to Biscayne National Park located about 35 miles (56 kilometers) south of Miami, Florida near the southernmost edge of Miami-Dade County. It is home to a wildlife preservation, helping the population of the American crocodile.cite web
url = http://www.fpl.com/environment/nuclear/about_turkey_point.shtml
title = "About Turkey Point"
work = FPL.com
publisher = Florida Power & Light
accessdate = 2007-07-25] Turkey Point has been the main contributing force to the reclassification of the American Crocodile from endangered to threatened. [CBS News. [http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2007/07/24/eveningnews/main3094681.shtml Endangered Crocs Make A Comeback] .]

Turkey Point is owned by Florida Power & Light.

Turkey Point contains two Westinghouse pressurized water reactors, each supplying steam to one high pressure and two low pressure turbines with a power output rated at 760 MWe for each unit. It serves the entire southern portion of Florida.

In 1992, Turkey Point was directly hit by Hurricane Andrew, causing over $90 million (1992 dollars) in damage, mainly to a water tank and to a smokestack of one of the fossil-fueled units on-site. No damage was done to the plant's containment buildings.cite web
date = July 20, 1993
url = http://www.nrc.gov/reading-rm/doc-collections/gen-comm/info-notices/1993/in93053.html
title = "NRC Information Notice 93-53: Effect of Hurricane Andrew on Turkey Point Nuclear Generating Station and Lessons Learned"
work = NRC.gov
publisher = Nuclear Regulatory Commission
accessdate = 2007-07-25] cite web
date = April 29, 1994
url = http://www.nrc.gov/reading-rm/doc-collections/gen-comm/info-notices/1993/in93053s1.html
title = "NRC Information Notice 93-53, Supplement 1: Effect of Hurricane Andrew on Turkey Point Nuclear Generating Station and Lessons Learned"
work = NRC.gov
publisher = Nuclear Regulatory Commission
accessdate = 2007-07-25] The plant was built to withstand winds of up to 235 mph (378 km/h), greatly exceeding the maximum winds recorded by category 5 hurricanes.

Florida Power & Light, the Nuclear Regulatory Commission, and the Federal Bureau of Investigation were investigating the discovery of a small hole drilled into a pipe that helps maintain pressure inside the reactor.cite news
url = http://www.nytimes.com/2006/04/02/us/02plant.html
title = Small Hole in Pipe at Nuclear Plant
work = New York Times
date = April 2, 2006
accessdate = 2007-07-25] This incident took place during a refueling outage when the reactor was not powered, and was quickly identified during power-up testing. The 3/16" hole was drilled into a 3" stainless steel schedule 160 pipe that would hold 600-degree-Fahrenheit reactor coolant water at 2235 psi under normal operation.

In 2006, FPL informed the Nuclear Regulatory Commission that they planned to apply for new units to be built at Turkey Point. FPL filed an initial proposal for increased capacity with the Florida Public Service Commission in October, 2007.cite news
url = http://www.miamiherald.com/business/story/274048.html
title = FPL moves to add nuclear plants in S. Dade
work = Miami Herald
date = October 17, 2007
accessdate = 2007-10-23] The proposal was approved by the PSC in March 2008. [cite news
url= http://www.miamiherald.com/982/story/492423.html
title= FPL reactor proposal advances
author= John Dorschner | coauthors= Curtis Morgan
date= 2008-03-19 | work= The Miami Herald |publisher=
accessdate= 2008-07-15 ]

2008 Florida electricity blackout

On February 26 2008, both reactors were shut down due to the loss of off-site power during a widespread power outage in South Florida currently affecting 700,000 customers. cite news
url = http://www.reuters.com/article/rbssFinancialServicesAndRealEstateNews/idUSN2635797520080226
title = FPL Fla, Turkey Pt reactors shut due to power outage | work = Reuters
date = February 26, 2008
accessdate = 2008-02-26]

At least 2.5 million people were without power. The blackout was initially caused by an overheated voltage switch that soon caught fire in a power substation near the plant. The fire occurred at 1:08 pm which caused an automatic shutdown of the power plant. This led to a domino effect that caused outages as far north as Daytona Beach and Tampa. Power was restored by 4:30 pm. The reason this malfunction caused such widespread outages is still under investigation. cite news
url = http://www.sun-sentinel.com/news/local/southflorida/sfl-flbfpl0227sbfeb27,0,7439215.story
title = FPL mystery: How did small fire knock out power to millions? = Sun-Sentinel
date = February 27, 2008
accessdate = 2008-02-27]

Walt Disney World, Orlando International Airport, and Miami International Airport were among the places affected by the outage. [http://www.wftv.com/news/15415018/detail.html]

References

External links

* [http://www.eia.doe.gov/cneaf/nuclear/page/at_a_glance/reactors/turkeypoint.html Turkey Point official Department of Energy page]
* [http://www.sun-sentinel.com/business/sfl-flzfpl0411sbapr11,0,6409044,print.story FP&L might be fined over nuclear plant security]