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Nuclear Option: Possible North Escambia Power Plant
February 13, 2012
Last week, the Nuclear Regulatory Commission approved the construction of two nuclear reactors in Georgia, paving the way for Southern Company — the parent company of Gulf Power — to build the nation’s first new nuclear power plants in more than 30 years.
The NRC certified the use of a Westinghouse reactor design known as the AP1000 for 15 years, after a lengthy review that included looking at safety issues. The design approved can be built at any suitable location in the United States.
The design could potentially be used for a nuclear plant in North Escambia. Gulf Power is in the process of purchasing about 4,000 acres near McDavid for a power plant that company officials say might be a nuclear plant. So far, Gulf Power’s $13 million in land purchases are approaching 2,700 acres.
The Florida Public Service Commission could decide later this month whether Gulf Power Company customers will pay $93.5 million more a year for electricity — partially to fund the land purchases near McDavid. A customer using 1,000 kilowatt hours of electricity would see their bill jump about $8 per month.
While Gulf Power says it is justified in seeking money for the land purchase, state Associate Public Counsel Joe McGlothlin said the company has not taken initial regulatory steps for a nuclear plant.
“In this case, the cart is about a city block in front of the horse,” said McGlothlin, whose office represents consumers in utility issues.
Top executives told the state Public Service Commission that Gulf Power has not received a base-rate increase in nearly a decade and needs to collect more money to continue upgrading its system in Northwest Florida.
“We asked for what we thought we needed,” Gulf Power President and Chief Executive Officer Mark Crosswhite told the Florida Public Service Commission in December. “We didn’t pad it.”
There has been no official announcement about Gulf Power’s plans for their North Escambia property.
(story continues below photo)
Gulf Power spokesman Jeff Rogers said the company knows it will eventually need the land. He said the company is keeping its “options open” until forecasts show a need for developing a power plant, which could be nuclear, gas-powered or some other type of facility.
“You can’t meet the need without the very first thing in place, and that’s the property, the land,” Rogers said.
PSC rate-case documents indicate Gulf Power started considering a nuclear project in 2007, after former Gov. Charlie Crist issued executive orders designed to reduce greenhouse-gas emissions from power plants.
The rate-case documents say Gulf Power considered more than two dozen potential sites in Northwest Florida before settling in 2008 on what is known as the North Escambia site that is bordered roughly by Bratt Road, Cox Road, Byrneville Road and Highway 29. The site is along the Escambia River, which could provide a crucial water source for a power plant, and has been owned largely by timber companies.
Pointing to such changes, Gulf Power official Rhonda Alexander said in written testimony that the company decided to defer moving forward with trying to get a license and permits for a nuclear-power plant. But she said it still needed to buy the land.
“Gulf had learned from its extensive site investigation that there was only one acceptable nuclear plant site in Northwest Florida,” said Alexander, who served as nuclear development manager from 2008 to 2010. “If Gulf was going to preserve the nuclear option for its customers, the North Escambia site needed to be secured by Gulf. If Gulf lost the ability to use that site, it would be precluded from building nuclear in the future.”
Pictured top: An artist rendering of an AP1000 nuclear plant. Pictured middle: One of the first pieces of property purchased by Gulf Power Company for a North Escambia power plant.
The News Service Florida contributed to this NorthEscambia.com report.
Comments
36 Responses to “Nuclear Option: Possible North Escambia Power Plant”
Why would everyone even think about making a nuclear power plant? DO ya’ll not realize how much harm this could cause our environment? One mistake and something could go very wrong!
nope, still messing it up. $0.06 per kilowatt would be six dollars for a hundred kilowatts.
David messing up
That should teach me to make fun of others or at least read and think more carefully ere posting.
I converted watts to kilowatts. Assuming $2 per watt, we would have to pay $200,000 not $200 for a hundred kilowatts capability since that‘s 100,000 watts. Not quite so sweet, but more reasonable. So anybody willing to settle say for 10 kilowatts power supply only has to cough up $20,000. 20 kilowatts would cost $40,000.
Let’s see $40,000 is drawing what lately? 1% interest rate would be $400 per year. If you pay more than $400 per year for electricity, then investing your spare $40,000 would save you money in the long run.
If the interest rate got back up to ten percent, you’d have to save more than $4,000 per year in power costs for it to be economical.
David for proper use of spare thousands
Nuclear plants supply base load which means they run at 100% power for 18 months before refueling. Some plants can go 24 months. The problem with solar is like today. Overcast skies. You can not rely on solar to be available and folks want their power 24/7. Solar can be a small part of energy diversity but it is not the answer. We need energy diversity meaning coal, natural gas, solar & nuclear. Natural gas prices are at record lows which makes Natural gas plants attractive to build today and cleaner than burning coal but what happens tomorrow when Natural gas prices double or triple. Utilities and customers need energy diversity and price stability and Nuclear is a key energy source. Why not incorporate Safe Nuclear Designs. Nuclear plants have advanced markedly in the last 30 years and they are going to get even more safety systems in the years ahead. Japan had problems on plants 40 years old with safety systems that had not been upgraded. The NRC makes plants upgrade here in the US and once they analyze Japan, you can be sure additional measures will be looked at to be added. What industry do you know where every employee working there makes 5 figure and 6 figure incomes. We should be begging for this plant to be built here.
REGARDING:
“With the $2 per watt rebate, the cost is $0.06 per kw. – - -we can have roof top solar for 25+ years!”
So I can pay $200 and get a hundred kilowatts power supply for 25 years? Sweet.
I have never used that much power at any one time and have paid more than that in a single month.
David not believing writer knows difference
between kilowatt-hour and kilowatt
The nuclear plant idea might have appeal on some levels, however a closer look shows that the power is MORE expensive than less hazardous alternatives.
Right now, today, solar on a roof top costs the same (per kw over the life of the system) as grid rates. With the $2 per watt rebate, the cost is $0.06 per kw. That is half the rate we currently pay.
Gulf Power wants us, the rate payers to pay them to build and operate the plant. This is not a free market enterprise, but socialized capitalism with a corporation and its stockholder’s hands in our pockets. For less then half the rate we currently pay (about $0.12 per kw) we can have roof top solar for 25+ years!
Don’t get sucked into the nuclear black hole. Solar is clean, quiet!
You do still have a choice….you can push the power companies to look into alternate types of power generation.things have changed in the past few years solar is right up there with nuclear as far as cost and out put go.wind has come a long way too.do some research and don’t be afraid to say what you want.we do have rights;we just have to exercise them. As far as jobs go both solar and wind power generate job growth also:) keep pushing for what you want so we can be sure the best decision is made for our area.have a good day
Build Baby Build……and ……Drill Baby Drill…… Get that pipeline in here from Canada.
New refineries……no more money to the Middle East. Keep it here.
REGARDING:
“trying to figure out how he fished near a nuclear plant that didn’t exist”
I have read that some people think the hyperbolic cooling towers are only used with nuclear power plants, not knowing they are used for all kinds. This made me wonder if the power plant on St. Johns River uses a cooling tower and this confused our friend. That way he could honestly be making that incorrect statement, thinking it to be true.
(I always try to find the best in everybody even when they’re wrong.)
David for cool cooling
killem all and burn the nests on February 14th, 2012 7:32 am
c.w. on February 13th, 2012 12:37 pm
Reguarding
“If a nuke power plant is built here, Escambia river, Escambia Bay, and all the rest will be affected. (killed)”
I have fished around a nuke plant on the St. Johns River and you have to get many miles from the plant before there are fish to catch, but you seem to know everything so you already know this.
_______
No you haven’t c.w., that’s a Coal Steam Plant on St. John’s River
.w. on February 14th, 2012 5:04 am No you haven’t c.w., that’s a Coal Steam Plant on St. John’s River
————————–
There is more than one electric plant on the St. Johns River. And YES I have
Wow…… guess I really need a geography lesson here. There are only 3 nuke plants in the state of Florida. …….Crystal River Plant, 40 miles SW of Ocala on the Gulf of Mexico…….St Lucie Plant below Cape Canaveral on the Atlantic….and Turkey Point in Miami…….last time I checked the St Johns River is in the Northeast corner of the state hundreds of miles from the nearest of these three (nowhere close). Yet you somehow fished next to a nuke plant on the St Johns……..NOT
You and all the other “misinformeds” such as this person ((((Nuclear Plants require less people to run them, not more people))))) should keep your “self-embarrasing” thoughts to yourself.
____________
Oh come on now kill em, it’s quite apparent that most people in this comment section don’t like facts. c.w. still trying to figure out how he fished near a nuclear plant that didn’t exist
REGARDING:
“Tell it to the people in Japan, Three Mile Island and that Russian place. I don’t feel ignorant.”
And yet…. Never mind.
An earthquake hits and kills thousands. It also causes a tsunami which kills more thousands. The quake and tsunami shut down cooling and cause a power plant failure.
I imagine it WILL kill folks eventually. Not as many as what caused the problem in the first place but some of those who went in will eventually be killed as a result of increased exposure to ionizing radiation. The power plant listed above has designs even to avoid that failure.
Any quake and tsunami which would affect the area mentioned would have already killed all of us in lower lying areas long before it reached the power plant on high ground.
Three Mile Island melted down due to loss of coolant but released no radioactivity to speak of, caused no loss of life. Melting down is actually a design feature to kill the fission reaction in case of loss of coolant.
The design at Chernobyl was a different form, using a graphite moderator system unable to melt down and was actually a fire (burning graphite) rather than a nuclear failure. (They drained the water to see what would happen!) The fire carried away the radioactive material, but nobody is proposing building reactors around here using carbon to hold them.
David for understanding apart from feelings
and feelings with understanding
while living in Bluff Springs
c.w. on February 13th, 2012 12:37 pm
Reguarding
“If a nuke power plant is built here, Escambia river, Escambia Bay, and all the rest will be affected. (killed)”
I have fished around a nuke plant on the St. Johns River and you have to get many miles from the plant before there are fish to catch, but you seem to know everything so you already know this.
_______
No you haven’t c.w., that’s a Coal Steam Plant on St. John’s River
.w. on February 14th, 2012 5:04 am No you haven’t c.w., that’s a Coal Steam Plant on St. John’s River
————————–
There is more than one electric plant on the St. Johns River. And YES I have
Wow…… guess I really need a geography lesson here. There are only 3 nuke plants in the state of Florida. …….Crystal River Plant, 40 miles SW of Ocala on the Gulf of Mexico…….St Lucie Plant below Cape Canaveral on the Atlantic….and Turkey Point in Miami…….last time I checked the St Johns River is in the Northeast corner of the state hundreds of miles from the nearest of these three (nowhere close). Yet you somehow fished next to a nuke plant on the St Johns……..NOT
You and all the other “misinformeds” such as this person ((((Nuclear Plants require less people to run them, not more people))))) should keep your “self-embarrasing” thoughts to yourself.
Tell it to the people in Japan,Three mile island and that russian place.I don’t feel ignorant.Maybe if you like it so much you could buy a house right next to it.
REGARDING:
“Yes, you can use those other roads IF the wind isn’t blowing in that direction.”
You’re already assuming a breach of a two foot reinforced concrete shell and radioactive particles escaping like nuclear fall out. But let’s assume that happens, to make you happy. While the wind can blow in any direction, it can’t blow in all directions at the same time. I mentioned roads south of it, north of it, east of it, west of it.
Even assuming your worst case scenario, most would be unaffected.
David for wind socks
No you haven’t c.w., that’s a Coal Steam Plant on St. John’s River
————————–
There is more than one electric plant on the St. Johns River. And YES I have!
And you wonder why people think the “South” is slow!!! If you don’t like it, just say that and leave it at that!! When you start giving reasons it just shows how ignorant you are to the subject! I have worked in Nuclear Power Plants for the last 10 years all around the world and most people don’t even know they have a Nuclear Plant anywhere around them!!
The two AP1000 plants in Northeast Georgia will cost Georgia Power 16 Billion to build. They are very safe 3rd generation designs. The plants can cool themselves with no operator intervention for a long while. Lots of passive safety systems. Nuclear power costs less than a penny a KW to produce vice 3-5 cents per KW for coal and gas plants so over time they can reclaim the costs over time. However I can not see Gulf Power having deep enough pockets to fund a Full Size Nuclear plant like AP1000s. We do not have any big cities in this area. Pensacola, Mobile, Montgomery are median size. So the power would have to be exported long distances. I think GP will most likely build a Natural Gas plant there and maybe in the future, we might see a SMR Nuclear plant join the site. Currently power demand nationwide is low and barely growing so all plans to build power plants are now 4-5 years pushed out into the future. Crist plant has been upgraded for emissions but with new EPA rules, coal is going out and other energy plants will have to be built to take their place. Now it is possible a Small Modular Reactor could be built there. Google Westinghouse SMR if interested in reading about a design that has not been approved but they are working on and we will see built in this country.
439 nuclear power plants in the world and 104 of them is in the US. How many accidents has there been out of those 104 in the US in the past 30 years? We need income in this area and what a way to get it besides a fast food restaurant paying minimum wage. How many of you have complained about no jobs in this area?
If you know Jesus then you have nothing to fear.
_____
c.w. on February 13th, 2012 12:37 pm
Reguarding
“If a nuke power plant is built here, Escambia river, Escambia Bay, and all the rest will be affected. (killed)”
I have fished around a nuke plant on the St. Johns River and you have to get many miles from the plant before there are fish to catch, but you seem to know everything so you already know this.
_______
No you haven’t c.w., that’s a Coal Steam Plant on St. John’s River
I meant WE (in the north county) couldn’t evacuate on I-10 because all the people in Pensacola would be using it. Yes, you can use those other roads IF the wind isn’t blowing in that direction.
I am with David on this one! Well said David.
I agree that a nuclear power plant will create issues, but almost any type of plant has associated problems. The state should do an independant risk assessment. With the plant being miles from anything else, it may be worth the risks. If North Florida is going to ever come out of the stone age, we have to understand that with progresss there are risks. Aren’t you tired of the new strip malls and all the low paying jobs? This backwoods & outhouses attitude is why all of our kids have to leave the area to make a living (with or without a college degree). Do we have to immediately cry wolf at every whisper of change?
Reguarding
“If a nuke power plant is built here, Escambia river, Escambia Bay, and all the rest will be affected. (killed)”
I have fished around a nuke plant on the St. Johns River and you have to get many miles from the plant before there are fish to catch, but you seem to know everything so you already know this.
I hate, hate, hate this. No choice? Found a great place to live and the world moves in again. I hate what humans have done to a once perfect planet. What happens when OUR wisdom poisons the whole planet and everything in it? I hope this fails. Please don’t tell me how safe it is. That’s what I was told about a flight I was on one time, the stop before it crash landed at it’s final destination, We have been lied to by the powers that be all our lives. Most seem to still believe the lies. Just like Charlie Brown believes Lucy every year with her football.
Jane,
You do not need to worry about adequate evacuation routes.
If the order to evacuate is issued because something went wrong at the nike plant, it will be too late anyways.
Please …Please….Please …NO!!!!! Absolutely NOT!!!!!! I will pray that this plant does not come to pass! Danger…Danger…Danger!
The article says, “If Gulf was going to preserve the nuclear option for its customers, the North Escambia site needed to be secured by Gulf. If Gulf lost the ability to use that site, it would be precluded from building nuclear in the future.”
So, does this mean that they have secured the property needed OR they are still in need of more property? Can it be blocked? I know big companies will not just buy land without intent to use it. How fast will all this start happening?
Nuclear Plants require less people to run them, not more people. They are also suppose to be more efficient for energy and eventually cost less, right? That is what I understood. Gulf needs to teach us about nuclear power options if they want the community to accept them in our homes and back yards. OR we can learn more about the pros and cons by researching nuclear plants on our own. Plus, if we just stand around running our mouths and doing nothing, then someone will end up “doing something” for us!
I live in Molino and would hate for any contamination issues to occur to any of my friends, family, and neighbors. As, in the past…it only takes ONE bad accident to occur. It sounds scary, but how scary is it really?
I don’t really want to pay more for power, but they are going to built the plant regardless. If they build it elsewhere it won’t be to far away and we would still be at risk if there is a problem. We would wind up without the economic impact and still have the risk!
REGARDING:
“Personally, I don’t care I don’t like it and that’s how I feel.”
An irrefutable argument. I don’t like it because I don’t like it. Not very persuasive, though. I don’t like Whitney Houston being dead, but she still is.
AND
“People can’t get out on 10 from here because everyone in Pensacola will have the roads clogged up. If they are going to build a nuclear power plant then they need to fund an evacuation route from this area in case of an emergency at the power plant.”
If there were a problem at the plant, people in Pensacola would drive toward the plant? They wouldn’t drive toward Tallahassee or New Orleans? Surely they’re smarter than that. Just like folks around here know how to drive on 4, 21, 29, 31, 97, 99, 164, 168 and others as needed.
AND
“If a nuke power plant is built here, Escambia river, Escambia Bay, and all the rest will be affected. (killed)”
So all rivers around all nuclear power plants are dead?
Has anyone told the fish?
David considering directions, demands, exaggerations
Folks, GP could care less wheather we like a nuke plant around us. It all about how much GP can get from you.
About all the jobs. What good are jobs when you have a nucular melt down. If a nuke power plant is built here, escambia river, escambia bay, and all the rest will be affected. (killed) But does GP care? NO
bring it on. good jobs and lots of them. geeez look at century and the surrounding area. it would take years to build and our economy would be booming. more stores, houses built, more revenue for the towns. it’s a no brainer.
Check out the story on February 11, 2012. It seems that Gulf Power whats to lower you bill $3.33 per 1000 Killowatt hours, before they raise it by $8 per Killowatt hours.
If they have to build this,I hope its south of Molino.Maybe down by the bay.I like my rivers Perdido and escambia,I know somebody is going to say how safe they are and clean and we need the jobs.Personaly, I don’t care I don’t like it and thats how I feel.Think about all the Mech. Contractors that constantly repair and maintain the power plants we have now.Will they be trained to take care of these plants or will a contractor from somewhere else take the job.I think you will lose as many jobs as you gain.Ultimately,if something goes wrong this plant is way more dangerous to people and water and air than what we already have,”IF” something were to go wrong.
Of course, if we’re going to fund capitalization of any power plant, we need equity in it.
David for owning nukes
Have they considered that in an emergency Hwy. 29 is the only exit from this area and if there is a problem no one can be evacuted easily? People can’t get out on 10 from here because everyone in Pensacola will have the roads clogged up. If they are going to build a nuclear power plant then they need to fund an evatuation route from this area in case of an emergency at the power plant.