Combined-Cycle, Renewables Projects Lead NextEra Energy in Planned Project Activity

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Researched by Industrial Info Resources (Sugar Land, Texas)--NextEra Energy Incorporated (NYSE:NEE) (Juno Beach, Florida) reported strong net income of $4.43 billion for first-quarter 2018, compared with $1.58 billion in first-quarter 2017. The company is following through with two combined-cycle power plants and a series of wind and solar projects to add to its increasing renewables portfolio. Industrial Info is tracking more than $16 billion of planned NextEra Energy projects.

In the company's conference call, Chief Financial Officer John Ketchum said that chief subsidiary Florida Power & Light Company (Juno Beach) had made capital expenditures of approximately $1.2 billion in the quarter and expected full-year capital investments to be between $4.9 billion and $5.3 billion.

Among the top projects of NextEra is the Okeechobee Clean Energy Center in Okeechobee, Florida. Construction on the 1,750-megawatt (MW) combined-cycle power plant kicked off in early 2017, with Zachry Industrial Services Group (San Antonio, Texas) providing engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) and Iberville Insulations LLC (Baton Rouge, Louisiana) acting as a subcontractor. Ketchum said the $1.2 billion project remains on time and on budget. Construction is expected to wrap up in summer 2019. For more information, see Industrial Info's project report.

Ketchum said the company also was progressing with another combined-cycle project, the Dania Beach Clean Energy Center in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, for which the Florida Public Service Commission recently granted the determination of need. The 1,200-MW plant will replace an older plant on the site, helping reduce air emissions by 70%. Construction is expected to kick off next year, with completion planned for 2022. For more information, see Industrial Info's project report.

NextEra also is progressing with its Solar Base Rate Adjustment (SoBRA) program. The company placed eight 74.5-MW solar facilities throughout Florida into service in the first quarter, with about 600 MW of projects remaining under the plan. Among the SoBRA projects planned to kick off this year is the Sunshine Gateway Solar Center in Lake City, Florida, and the Miami Dade Solar Center in Homestead, Florida. Both projects will have a generating capacity 74.5 MW and have an estimated TIV of $103 million. Construction is planned to kick off later this year, with completion planned for next summer. For more information, see Industrial Info's project reports on the Sunshine Gateway and Miami Dade projects.

While Florida remains a prime site for NextEra projects, the company is also branching out with solar and wind projects in other parts of the U.S. through NextEra Energy Resources, which is also responsible for a natural gas pipeline joint venture. Among the solar projects is the 173-MW Bluebell Solar Farm near Sterling City, Texas. The facility will use 769,000 solar panels. Construction is planned to kick off later this year for completion in summer 2019. The project has an estimated TIV of $187 million. For more information, see Industrial Info's project report.

In Rawls, Texas, about 290 miles east of Lubbock, NextEra is in the planning stage for an 80-MW windfarm. The facility will use 40 2-MW wind turbine-generators. The project is planned to kick off early next year, for completion in the third quarter. The project has an estimated TIV of $160 million. For more information, see Industrial Info's project report.

In the first quarter, NextEra also kicked off construction of the Mountain Valley natural gas pipeline, which is a joint venture with EQT Midstream Partners LP (NYSE:EQM) (Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania). The pipeline will span approximately 300 miles from northwestern West Virginia to southern Virginia and will carry 2 billion cubic feet per day of natural gas. The pipeline has a targeted in-service date of December 2018. Tetra Tech Incorporated (Boston, Massachusetts) is a consultant on the project. For more information, see Industrial Info's project report. Ketchum said the companies were considering an expansion of the pipeline, which would run from Virginia to new delivery points in central North Carolina. The expansion is currently in open season to determine subscriber interest.

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