"Duke To Retire Florida Crystal River Nuclear Plant"

"Duke Energy Corp, the biggest power company in the United States, said Tuesday its Progress Energy Florida utility will retire the Crystal River nuclear plant in Florida."



"The plant has already been safely shut down and offline since late 2009 due to damage done to the reactor's containment structure during a power upgrade and the replacement of the unit's steam generators.

There are currently 104 reactors licensed to operate in the United States. The reactors have a total capacity of about 101,000 megawatts (MW) and generate about 20 percent of the nation's power.

In addition to Crystal River Unit 3, Dominion Resource Inc plans to retire the Kewaunee reactor in Wisconsin over the next few months due primarily to weak natural gas prices from record shale production that has reduced power prices to decades low levels, making the continued operation of Kewaunee uneconomic."

Scott DiSavino reports for Reuters February 6, 2013.

SEE ALSO:

"Duke Energy Announces Closing of Crystal River Nuclear Power Plant" (Tampa Bay Times)

"Florida Progress Will Close Crystal River Nuclear Power Plant" (Tampa Tribune)

"Progress Energy To Retire Its Crystal River Nuclear Plant" (Orlando Sentinel)

"Crystal River Nuclear Plant Closure Devastates Citrus County" (Tampa Bay Times)

"Questions and Answers About Crystal River Nuclear Plant" (Tampa Bay Times)

"Crystal River Nuclear Plant, Owned By Duke Energy, Closing Due To Botched Repairs" (AP)
 

Source: Reuters, 02/06/2013