ML14163A652

Summary of May 29, 2014, Public Meeting with NextEra Energy, Inc. and Florida Power & Light Company Regarding Proposed Amendment to Transition Fuel Type at St. Lucie Unit 2

ML14163A652
Person / Time
Site:	Saint Lucie
Issue date:	06/19/2014
From:	Audrey Klett Plant Licensing Branch II
To:	Lisa Regner Plant Licensing Branch II
Klett A
References
TAC MF4062
Download: ML14163A652 (4)

Text

MEMORANDUM TO: Lisa M. Regner, Acting Chief Plant Licensing Branch 11-2 Division of Operating Reactor Licensing Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation FROM: Audrey L. Klett, Project Manager ~..1 _

Plant Licensing Branch 11-2 pr..___-----

Division of Operating Reactor Licensing Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation

SUMMARY

OF MAY 29,2014, PUBLIC MEETING WITH NEXTERA ENERGY, INC. AND FLORIDA POWER & LIGHT COMPANY REGARDING PROPOSED AMENDMENT TO TRANSITION FUEL TYPE AT ST. LUCIE UNIT 2 (TAC NO. MF4062)

On May 29, 2014, the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) staff hosted a public Category 1 meeting via Webinar and teleconference with staff from NextEra Energy, Inc., and Florida Power & Light Company (FPL, the licensee) to discuss the licensee's proposed fuel design change from Westinghouse to AREVA fuel at St. Lucie Unit 2. The licensee requested this meeting to inform the NRC staff of its intent to submit a license amendment request. The licensee provided presentation slides, which are available in the NRC's Agencywide Documents Access and Management System at Accession No. ML14147A415. The enclosure contains the meeting attendance list.

The licensee presented an overview of its planned transition to the AREVA high thermal performance (HTP) fuel design at St. Lucie Unit 2, including a proposed schedule for the license amendment request and approval. The licensee discussed the AREVA fuel design, the fuel design's operating experience, the proposed fuel design methodology and review criteria, the proposed core design methodology and thermal hydraulic analysis, and the proposed safety analysis methodology. The licensee discussed the contents of its proposed license amendment request, which would include changes to the St. Lucie Unit 2 Technical Specifications and a request for an exemption from federal regulations to allow the use of M5 fuel rod cladding. The licensee then discussed its proposed schedule for the amendment request submittal, amendment issuance, fuel delivery date, and the affected operating cycle start-up date.

The NRC staff asked the licensee questions about the content of its proposed amendment request and the methodologies used for the new fuel design. The staff raised concerns about the complexity of the proposed licensing amendment, which would involve the first batch application of an AREVA 16 x 16 Combustion Engineering HTP fuel assembly design, changes to the existing fuel seismic design methodology, and continued use of Westinghouse core physics and safety analysis methods in addition to the AREVA methods. The staff requested that the applicant review lessons learned from an earlier Westinghouse-to-AREVA fuel transition at Calvert Cliffs Nuclear Power Plant. The staff also asked the licensee whether the

L. Regner methodology would address mixed-core effects, hydraulic compatibility and characterization, and reactor protection system setpoints. The NRC also asked about changes to Technical Specification 4.2.1.

The licensee clarified that it would like the amendment approved by March 2016. The NRC staff cautioned the licensee that given the complexity of its proposed submittal and that Fukushima lessons learned-related work challenges NRC resources, the NRC might not be able to complete its review within the requested timeframe. The NRC staff suggested that the licensee submit its application earlier than that noted in the proposed schedule. The NRC staff also suggested that the review may be more efficient if the NRC performed an audit of the methodologies early in the review process.

The NRC staff asked if any members of the public had questions. One member of the public said that she would call NRC staff after the meeting to obtain clarification on the discussion during the meeting.

Enclosure:

Attendance List cc w/encl.: Distribution via Listserv

LIST OF PARTICIPANTS May 29, 2014, MEETING VIA WEBINAR/TELECONFERENCE WITH NEXTERA ENERGY, INC REGARDING ST. LUCIE UNIT 2 FUEL TYPE TRANSITION Lisa Regner NRC Jeremy Dean NRC Audrey Klett NRC Davida Cunanan NRC Paul Clifford NRC Mathew Panicker NRC TaiHuang NRC Andrew Proffitt NRC Jay Kabadi NextEra/FPL Roberto Rivera NextEra/FPL Ken Frehafer NextEra/FPL Greg Kessler AREVA Jerald Holm AREVA John McGuire AREVA Rick Williamson AREVA Marvin Lewis Public Ruth Thomas Public Enclosure

ML14163A652 OFFICE NRR/DORULPLII-2/PM NRR/DORULPLII-2/LA NRR/DORULPLII-2/BC (A) NRR/DORULPLII-2/PM NAME A Klett BCiayton LRegner AKiett DATE 6/16/14 6/13/14 6/18/14 6/19/14