FPL plan to improve conditions near Turkey Point's cooling canal system reaches important approval milestone with State

-- Florida Department of Environmental Protection, FPL agree to science-driven solutions to improve water quality

-- Plan reviewed and supported by environmental groups and independent experts

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Jun 20, 2016, 05:58 ET

FLORIDA CITY, Fla., June 20, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- Florida Power & Light Company (FPL) today announced that it has reached an agreement with the Florida Department of Environmental Protection (FDEP) through a detailed Consent Order that finalizes a long-term plan to remove hypersaline water from underneath and near the cooling canal system at the Turkey Point Power Plant.

The company is eager to execute the next steps in its improvement plan outlined in the Consent Order. The long-term plan complements the actions FPL has taken over the past year to successfully reduce the salinity in the Turkey Point cooling canal system and improve the overall efficiency of the canals.

"With this Consent Order, we are now positioned to realize further improvements in water quality in and around the cooling canals at Turkey Point," said Eric Silagy, FPL's president and CEO. "We believe this plan, which we hope will not be challenged and subsequently delayed, will address the cooling canal system issues at Turkey Point while protecting the surrounding environment. I'm confident that the fact-based solutions we'll be implementing at Turkey Point will have a lasting positive impact."

FPL's Turkey Point Nuclear Power Plant continues to operate safely as it has for more than 40 years, generating zero-carbon energy to power hundreds of thousands of homes and businesses. The site's recent water quality challenges involving the cooling canal system do not impact the safety of the plant or public health.

The consent order is the result of a months-long process and was developed in consultation with regulatory agencies and independent experts in hydrology, environmental conservation and wildlife protection. As part of the plan, FPL will install a recovery system to capture hypersaline groundwater and safely put it deep underground in bedrock that is separate from drinking water sources.

In addition to removing hypersaline water, FPL will immediately undertake restoration projects on the east side of the cooling canals designed to protect the quality of surface water in Biscayne Bay. The projects include restoring an area called Turtle Point to its previous natural state, helping encourage marine and plant life in the area.

The agreement also ensures that additional progress continues to be made at Turkey Point. FPL has already taken short-term action to successfully reduce the salinity in the cooling canals. FPL is also currently constructing a system that will refresh the canals with up to 14 million gallons per day of Floridan aquifer water, helping keep salinity levels in balance with Biscayne Bay.

For more information, visit FPL's educational website, www.TurkeyPointFacts.com.

Florida Power & Light Company
Florida Power & Light Company is the third-largest electric utility in the United States, serving more than 4.8 million customer accounts or more than 10 million people across nearly half of the state of Florida. FPL's typical 1,000-kWh residential customer bill is approximately 30 percent lower than the latest national average and, in 2015, was the lowest in Florida among reporting utilities for the sixth year in a row. FPL's service reliability is better than 99.98 percent, and its highly fuel-efficient power plant fleet is one of the cleanest among all utilities nationwide. The company was recognized in 2015 as one of the most trusted U.S. electric utilities by Market Strategies International. A leading Florida employer with approximately 8,800 employees, FPL is a subsidiary of Juno Beach, Fla.-based NextEra Energy, Inc. (NYSE: NEE), a clean energy company widely recognized for its efforts in sustainability, ethics and diversity, and has been ranked No. 1 in the electric and gas utilities industry in Fortune's 2016 list of "World's Most Admired Companies." NextEra Energy is also the parent company of NextEra Energy Resources, LLC, which, together with its affiliated entities, is the world's largest generator of renewable energy from the wind and sun. For more information, visit these websites: www.NextEraEnergy.com, www.FPL.com, www.NextEraEnergyResources.com.

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SOURCE Florida Power & Light Company