Quick Facts
- Located on Hutchinson Island about eight miles southeast of Ft. Pierce
- Two nuclear power units:
- Unit 1 began operation in 1976
- Unit 2 following in 1983
- Generates about 2,000 megawatts
(1 megawatt = 1 million watts) of electricity -- enough power to supply the annual needs of more than 1 million homes - Reactor manufacturer - Combustion Engineering
- Turbine Generator Manufacturer - Westinghouse
- A safe, reliable and low-cost producer of electricity
Plant milestones
Activity |
Unit 1 |
Unit 2 |
Construction permit |
July 1970 |
May 1977 |
Full-power operating license |
March 1976 |
April 1983 |
Commercial operations |
June 1976 |
August 1983 |
Renewed operating licenses received from the Nuclear Regulatory Commission |
October 2003 |
October 2003 |
Come visit us
St. Lucie Plant opened a visitors' center called the Energy Encounter in 1990. More than 500,000 visitors have toured the center, which contains interactive, educational exhibits on:
- Energy
- Electricity
- Nuclear power
The facility hosts about 15,000 students annually on field trips, providing guided tours and free, hands-on science programs.
Environmental stewardship
Three-fourths of the St. Lucie Plant property remains in its natural state of mangroves, beaches and swamps.
There are about 180 species of birds and animals that inhabit the St. Lucie Plant property in our wildlife preserve. Of these, 36 are endangered or threatened.
Sea turtles return annually to nest on isolated plant beaches. We are committed to:
- Protecting sea turtles and assisting research institutions in data collection
- Providing nesting surveys since 1971 on 21 miles of adjacent beach property
- Conducting turtle walks for the public during the summer to observe nesting sea turtles
Turtle walks have been held since 1989 to increase awareness of sea turtle conservation issues. Around 500 people attend these events annually.