Locals dismayed at closing of Crystal River nuclear plant
Feb 15, 2013
The people of Citrus County, Fla., are not happy about the decision from Duke Energy (NYSE: DUK) to close it’s 860 MW Crystal River nuclear plant, according to a new report from National Public Radio. The Crystal River nuclear plant was the primary economic engine in this rural corner of Florida, a role that became all the more important in the wake of the financial crisis and collapse of the housing and construction markets, according to the report. In addition to the ripple effect of job losses in the small community of 142,000, the plant closure is likely to leave a significant hole in the county’s tax revenue; Duke Energy currently pays about 26 percent of Citrus County’s tax base, according to a local official quoted by NPR. The decision to close the plant came after several years of uncertainty, following a maintenance shutdown in 2009 and a botched upgrade that caused a crack in the reactor’s containment building. When an attempt to fix the crack led to another crack, the company decided to abandon the plant altogether. With the closure of the plant, Duke Energy’s 1.5 million ratepayers will pick up the bill for the failed upgrade, decommissioning costs, and the cost of a new gas-fired plant. I would imagine that the ratepayers will be out up to the tune of close to $4 billion as time goes on," state legislator Mike Fasano told NPR. Subscribe to Nuclear Power International magazine |