Ready for Irma: Officials confident that reactors at two nuclear plants in Florida will stand firm as the deadly hurricane heads for landfall
Florida Power & Light’s Turkey Point and St. Lucie plants lie in the projected path of 185mph Irma
Bosses are monitoring the hurricane in case they need to shut down the reactors before Saturday
They are confident plants can weather storm as both have a track record of surviving hurricanes
By CHARLIE MOORE
DAILYMAIL.COM
7 September 2017
Nuclear power bosses are ready to shut down the reactors of two plants which lie in the path of Hurricane Irma.
Florida Power & Light’s Turkey Point and St. Lucie plants, which can supply power to almost two million homes, are under threat.
Spokesman Peter Robbins said: ‘Based on the current track, we would expect severe weather in Florida starting Saturday, meaning we would potentially shut down before that point.’
The company, a subsidiary of NextEra Energy Inc, is watching the weather and would adjust any plans as necessary, Robbins said.
It can take more than 24 hours to shut down a reactor, so the decision will have to be made well in advance.
But bosses are confident the power plants can weather the 185mph storm, as they both have a track record of surviving hurricanes.
Turkey Point, on Biscayne Bay about 24 miles south of Miami, saw off a Category 5 strike from Hurricane Andrew in 1992, sustaining $90million of damage in the process.
St. Lucie on Hutchinson Island about 55 miles north of West Palm Beach, weathered Hurricanes Frances and Jeanne in 2005 and Wilma the year after.
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