Florida’s Progress Energy has named a site in southern Levy County as the preferred location for the construction of a new nuclear plant should the development go ahead.
The Levy County site is located about 10km inland from the Gulf of Mexico and some 12 km north of the company’s Crystal River Energy Complex in Citrus County, where the company already operates a nuclear plant.
The Levy County location was chosen based on an assessment of the major siting criteria including access to sufficient quantities of water and access to the transmission grid. The proximity of the site to the company’s existing nuclear plant also would provide opportunities for efficiencies in shared support functions, the company says.
Jeff Lyash, president and chief executive of Progress said: “The site selection is not a decision to build a nuclear plant. That decision won’t be made for a year or longer. But it is a critical step in ensuring that nuclear power remains open and viable for future years.”
Progress informed the NRC a year ago of its plan to submit a combined construction and operating license (COL) application for a potential nuclear power plant. In November 2005, the company updated those plans to include a second COL, one for the Carolinas and one for Florida. Each COL covers up to two reactors at each site. The company currently operates five reactors at four nuclear plant sites.
