Dive Summary:

• Duke Energy is shutting down its Crystal RIver Nuclear Plant in Florida; the closing process may take 60 years to fully decontaminate the site.
• Duke will attempt to recoup $1.65 billion in investments from customers, but an insurance settlement will see the utility refund $835 million to its customers.
• The plant had been shut down since 2009 and a 2011 repair attempt caused new cracks in other parts of the structure; full repairs were expected to cost up to $3.4 billion.

From the article:

The nuclear plant operated by Duke Energy subsidiary Progress Energy Florida has been shut down since 2009, when its concrete containment building cracked during a maintenance and upgrade project. A 2011 repair attempt resulted in new cracks in other parts of the containment structure. Estimates put repair costs at between $1.3 billion and $3.4 billion.

The federal operating license for the nuclear plant, which began operating in 1977, was due to expire at the end of 2016, meaning Duke Energy would have had to wage a regulatory fight to extend its authority to operate. ...