No. SB 1696
Filed under Environment & Water.
Advanced Nuclear Reactors; Granting the Florida Public Service Commission the sole authority to regulate advanced nuclear reactors in this state; requiring the commission, the Department of Health, and the Department of Environmental Protection to jointly establish criteria for the certification of laboratories that perform analysis on nuclear materials for certain purposes; revising the criteria the commission must consider in its preliminary study of electric utility 10-year site plans; revising requirements for the development of certain standards by electric utilities, etc.
Plain English Summary
AI-GENERATEDCreates a new state law giving the Florida Public Service Commission sole authority to regulate advanced nuclear reactors, while the Department of Health and Department of Environmental Protection set health and environmental guidelines and help certify testing laboratories.
Anyone building, modifying, or operating an advanced nuclear reactor needs a commission permit or certification, must install radiation control devices, and faces civil penalties up to $100,000 per day, capped at $1 million per violation series.
Certain advanced nuclear projects -- small capacity additions or reactors replacing an existing plant at an already-certified site, and off-grid reactors serving a single consumer -- are exempted from Florida's general power plant siting and certification law.
The law also redefines 'clean energy' to include nuclear power alongside renewables, requires every electric utility, not just municipal and cooperative ones, to develop clean-energy standards, and swaps renewable energy for nuclear energy as a required factor in power-plant-need reviews.
AICreates a new section of law giving the Public Service Commission exclusive authority to regulate advanced nuclear reactors in Florida, including approving reactor designs, issuing permits for nuclear materials, and setting safety and construction standards.
AIAny person, corporation, or entity, not just utilities, may possess nuclear materials to research, design, test, build, and operate an advanced nuclear reactor, though not in quantities that would endanger national security or public safety.
AIBuilding or significantly modifying an advanced nuclear reactor requires certification from the commission first, and the facility must include radiation control devices that prevent contamination.
AISmall nuclear capacity additions at an already-certified plant site, reactors that replace a retiring plant of equal or lesser capacity, and off-grid reactors serving a single consumer are excused from certification under Florida's general Power Plant Siting Act.
AIThe duty to develop and annually report standards promoting clean energy and efficiency, previously limited to municipal electric utilities and rural electric cooperatives, now applies to every electric utility in the state, including investor-owned utilities.
AIAnyone who violates this new nuclear-reactor law or its rules faces a civil penalty of up to $100,000 per violation per day, though the total for any related series of violations cannot exceed $1 million.
AIThe law creates a 'clean energy' category that includes electricity from advanced nuclear reactors alongside existing renewable energy and renewable natural gas, replacing 'renewable energy' as the operative term throughout this energy-policy section.