A proposal to has been but forth to US federal regulators for the expansion of the Point Beach nuclear power plant in Wisconsin, Michigan, US. The proposed expansion would increase its power output by 17%. A state moratorium on nuclear power bars utilities from building reactors in the state but does not prevent expansion of nuclear power through modifications to existing plants. Under the proposal, the two-reactor, 1023MW plant near Manitowoc would boost its maximum power output by 170MW , or enough to supply 85,000 homes. The Point Beach plant received its license renewal several years ago and will be permitted to run until the 2030s. For several years, Point Beach faced intensive extra scrutiny from regulators because of a series of safety concerns detected by regulators. But for the past few years, the plant has operated without incident and is no longer subject to extra review. NextEra Energy, a unit of FPL Group, initially had hoped to target the power increase to take place in 2010 and 2011, but the Nuclear Regulatory Commission review process for the proposal is now expected to take longer than that. No cost estimate is available for the project.