duke-energy-to-shut-crystal-river-reactor-in-florida

[HooptieWagon]

5. The coal plants pre-existed the Nuke plant.

The nuke plant was a clusterfuck. Progress Energy operated it before merging with Duke Energy. PE tried a do-it-yourself replacement of the steam generator, despite having no experience. Furthermore, they went against the advice of companies and engineers who had experience in that process, and simply cut a large hole through the walls of the containment building, including tension bars that held it together. This resulted in large cracks in the walls. Prior, the Fl legislature had passed a bill allowing power companies to bill customers in advance (cost + 10%) for large maintainence and construction projects. So PE (now Duke) has been screwing around with all kinds of studies and plans for repairing the plant or constructing a replacement...in the mean time making a 10% profit on all the money they spent. So the more they spend, the more they make. Everybody is pretty unhappy, except for the power company and their puppets in Tallahassee.

Side note. About 30 years ago a fellow engineering student friend of mine got a summer intern job at the plant. One day he was given a gieger counter and truck, and told to drive around the perimeter of the facility taking radiation measurements. He came back with some disturbingly high data, which caused immediate concern. After some running around with hair on fire, someone pointed out to the staff the nuke plant had been shut down for maintainence a few weeks prior, and the radiation was coming from the coal being burned and the resultant smoke out the stacks.