Crystal River nuclear plant to remain shut down

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http://blogs.orlandosentinel.com/business_thebottomline/2011/04/crystal-river-nuclear-plant-to-remain-shut-down.html


The ongoing saga of repairs at Progress Energy’s nuclear power plant in Crystal River will continue as the company plans to further analyze damage to the reactor’s containment structure.

The plant was shut down for regular maintenance in September 2009 and some cracks in the containment wall were found. Several target dates to reopen the plant have come and gone with the latest being an announcement Monday that further work was needed. The North Carolina-based company’s news release gave no new target date for the plant, about 80 miles from Orlando, to come back on line.

Last week I wrote about how Progress Energy was under increased pressure on its nuclear projects as a result of the crisis in Japan and a waning financial appetite for the power source in the United States over the last few years.

The problems at Crystal River, which were detected when the plant was already taken down for routine maintenance, are proving to be expensive.

The latest release from the company shows just how much it is costing. The total so far is $440 million, with $290 million of that amount resulting from the need to buy power to serve customers from more expensive sources while the nuclear reactor is idle. The company’s insurance has covered $181 million of the total, leaving it to continue to be a drain on the company’s finances. Progress Energy plans to be acquired by Duke Energy, also of North Carolina, by the end of the year.

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and so it goes