Head of Lakeland Utility Floats Idea of Building New Nuclear Plant in Future

We’ll continue the discussion about the tensions between the US and Iran later in the program. But first–

A local electric utility has floated the idea of building a new nuclear power plant. This area has not had an operating nuclear plant since 2009 when the Crystal River nuclear plant was closed for repairs. When it was determined that the containment wall in the nuke was severely damaged—Duke Energy—which owns the plant decided to close it permanently in 2013 (https://www.tampabay.com/news/business/energy/duke-energy-announces-closing-of-crystal-river-nuclear-power-plant/1273794/)

The nuclear plant is currently being decommissioned- a process that could take decades (https://www.tampabay.com/business/duke-energy-florida-asks-to-speed-up-crystal-river-nuclear-decommissioning-20190601/).

Now, the Lakeland Ledger is reporting (https://www.theledger.com/news/20200106/nuclear-power-likely-option-in-lakeland) that the General Manager of the city of Lakeland’s electric system- Joel Ivy –told city commissioners that he believes the company’s next major investment in generators may be nuclear. But if it is built—it could take ten to fifteen years. Earlier today I spoke with Joel Ivey who is the General Manager of Lakeland Electric- the city’s municipally owned utility company.