by Mitch Perry, Florida Phoenix
April 14, 2025
Florida lawmakers should prepare to educate the public about advancements in nuclear safety to build public confidence about attempting to bring more nuclear power back to the state.
That’s one of the recommendations made by the Florida Public Service Commission (PSC) in a feasibility report issued to Gov. Ron DeSantis, House Speaker Daniel Perez, and Senate President Ben Albritton two weeks ago. The Legislature commissioned the study as part of an omnibus energy bill passed last year.
Other recommendations include:
Ensuring cost recovery for preliminary costs incurred during site evaluations to “mitigate financial risks” during the early phases of project development.Commissioning a more comprehensive study beyond any benefit to Florida’s electricity needs, including its influence in attracting new economic development, manufacturing, workforce development, and a potential site inventory.Moving forward with additional initiatives if the costs associated with advanced nuclear technologies are “more certain and demonstrate clear benefits to utility customers.”The Legislature passed a law in 2006 that created an alternative cost-recovery mechanism for new nuclear construction. It was considered controversial at the time because it allowed investor-owned public utilities to collect money for nuclear projects that might never be built.
That’s what happened in 2013, when Duke Energy dropped plans to build two nuclear reactors in Levy County after billing customers for early stages of the project, citing federal licensing delays and economic concerns.
That resulted in a class action to recover money paid by customers of Duke and Florida Power & Light — a case in which the energy companies prevailed.
Four units
Florida has four nuclear generating units — two at Turkey Point in Miami-Dade County and two in a St. Lucie County plant, all operated by Florida Power & Light — which provide approximately 11% of Florida’s energy needs.
Approximately 75% of all energy in Florida comes from natural gas — a larger proportion from a single source than in any other state in the country, Florida officials said last year during a PSC workshop.
The report notes that the U.S. Department of Defense is looking at pilot projects to deploy small modular reactors (SMRs) at military bases around the country. SMRs are around one tenth the physical size of traditional large nuclear reactors.
The PSC report says that with Florida public utilities having experience owning and operating nuclear power plants, they may be well suited to work in partnership with the Defense Department at Florida’s many military installations.
“The DOD has the largest energy consumers globally, and its energy demands are only expected to increase as newer, high-energy-usage military systems are introduced,” reads a section of the report.
“The White House reported that the DOD consumes 10 million gallons of fuel per day and 30,000 GWh of electricity annually, nearly all of which is obtained through off-site and civilian shared electrical grids. Bases being over reliant on energy obtained through a civilian shared electrical grid is seen as a problem, especially if the base is faced with harsh weather, physical attacks, cyberattacks, or other emergencies. Past administrations have viewed nuclear power as a potential solution to ensure military base power grids remain operational and ready for critical missions.”
SMRs have reduced fuel requirements, according to the International Atomic Energy Agency. Power plants based on SMRs may require less frequent refuelling, every 3 to 7 years, in comparison to between 1 and 2 years for conventional plants. Some SMRs are designed to operate for up to 30 years without refuelling.
Litigation
Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier announced last week that he was joining a group of states in filing a lawsuit against the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC), accusing the agency of illegally blocking the development of advanced nuclear technologies like SMRs.
“For decades, Washington has made promises about nuclear energy — but then throws up roadblocks when real innovation comes along,” Uthmeier said in a written statement. “Florida is done waiting. We’re taking action to unleash the full potential of safe nuclear technology, strengthen our energy independence, and secure cleaner water and air in our state.”
The lawsuit was originally filed in Texas in December by a coalition that included the states of Texas and Utah and the advanced nuclear reactor company Last Energy Inc. They contend that the NRC licensing process, as outlined by the Atomic Energy Act of 1954, is only intended for reactors it deems “capable of making use of special nuclear material in such quantity as to be of significance to common defense and security, or in such a manner as to affect the health and safety of the public.”
The report notes that at least seven states have passed legislation in recent years regarding nuclear power, with several specifically making it easier to obtain permits for SMRs.
Following the accidents at Three Mile Island in 1979 in Pennsylvania and the Chernobyl nuclear power plant in the old Soviet Union in 1986, construction of new nuclear power plants dropped dramatically in the United States. But with concerns about climate change growing, nuclear power has been looked at more favorably in some circles because it doesn’t produce greenhouse gas emissions.
In a draft environmental assessment for SMRs published in January by the NRC, the agency found that building SMRs “would not have significant cumulative effects” on the surrounding environment, including on air quality, ground water, local ecology, animal habitats and aquatic resources. The assessment did add, however, that, “SMR operation could generate additional vapor plumes if the proposed SMR technology requires building additional cooling towers.”
Also, a 2021 paper from the Environmental Working Group said that SMRs would not alleviate the climate crisis.
A Pew Research Center survey conducted last May showed 56% of Americans favoring more nuclear power plants to generate electricity. Americans remain more likely to favor expanding solar power (78%) and wind power (72%) than nuclear power.
The survey reports that while support for solar and wind power has declined by double digits since 2020 — largely driven by drops in Republican support — the share who favor nuclear power has grown by 13 percentage points over that span.
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