L-3 MAPPS has announced that it has been selected by Florida Power & Light Company (FPL) to supply a part-task trainer to the St Lucie Plant Unit 1.

The trainer will be used by FPL for just-in-time training for Unit 1 shutdown cooling operations, which are scheduled to take place in the first quarter of 2015. The project is underway and is expected to be completed by the end of this year.

L-3 MAPPS Power Systems and Simulation marketing and sales vice-president Michael Chatlani said: "FPL reached out to us with a great idea that we expanded upon with inputs from St Lucie’s simulator staff to develop the most cost-effective solution for FPL’s project objectives.

"L-3 MAPPS has supported St Lucie’s training programme with innovative simulation solutions for 30 years, and we are pleased that FPL continues to place their trust in us for their challenging simulation needs."

L-3 MAPPS will develop a new Unit 1 shutdown cooling system model, which includes the containment spray and safety injection systems, utilising its Orchid® Modelling Environment.

The plant operators will be trained in a classroom environment by interacting with Unit 1-specific control room virtual panels, using L-3 MAPPS’ popular Orchid Touch Interface solution.

The operators will use the actual plant procedures to operate the part-task trainer in the same way they are exercised in the plant control room. At the completion of this project, St Lucie will be equipped with a total of eight Orchid Touch Interface bays, deployed in a number of classrooms for various purposes.

L-3 MAPPS will also develop special-purpose active schematics, allowing the instructor to monitor the shutdown cooling system parameters, inject malfunctions and trigger remote operator actions.

Florida Power & Light Company, a subsidiary of NextEra Energy, Inc, is the largest electric utility in Florida and one of the largest rate-regulated utilities in the United States. FPL serves approximately 4.6 million customers in Florida.

The St Lucie Plant is located on Hutchinson Island, midway between Fort Pierce and Stuart. The plant is made up of two Combustion Engineering pressurised water reactors, with a net electrical output of approximately 2,000 MWe. The reference unit for the L-3 MAPPS-delivered full scope simulator is Unit 2.