Florida Greenlights Two More Gas-Fired Power Projects

Written by John Egan for Industrial Info Resources (Sugar Land, Texas)--Unlike California, Arizona and some other states, Florida has continued its embrace gas-fired power generation. Earlier this year, the state's utility regulators approved construction of two new gas-fired plants, totaling more than 1,600 megawatts (MW), that will be built either by Seminole Electric Cooperative (Tampa, Florida) or for its benefit.

The two plants approved May 8 by the Florida Public Service (FPSC) (Tallahassee, Florida) are:

• Seminole Generating Station, a 1,050-MW, combined-cycle plant expansion slated to be built in Putnam County, Florida. The Industrial Company, a unit of Kiewit Corporation (Omaha, Nebraska) is providing engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) services to this $945 million project. The project is in the engineering stage. Seminole said it expects to begin construction in late 2019. The plant is expected to begin operating in late 2022. For more information, see Industrial Info's project report.
• A 573-MW unit expansion of the Shady Hills Generating Station, located in Pasco County, also was approved by Florida regulators in early May. The owner of that plant is a unit of General Electric Company (NYSE:GE) (Boston, Massachusetts). At an existing peaking power station, a combined-cycle unit will be added for about $530 million. Construction is expected to kick off in mid-2019 and to be completed by yearend 2021. Seminole will buy all the planned unit's electrical output. For more information, see Industrial Info's project report.

Because the two new generators will be built on existing power-generation sites, Seminole's customers are expected to save an estimated $353 million, the FPSC said in a May 8 statement.

These two plants add to a growing list of gas-fired power plants in the Sunshine State that have been recently completed, are under construction or are planned to be built.

Completed in Last Two Years

• Florida Power & Light Company (FPL) (Juno Beach, Florida), a unit of NextEra Energy Incorporated (NYSE:NEE) (Juno Beach, Florida), invested about $1 billion to build a 1,205-MW peaking unit to the Lauderdale Combined-Cycle Power Station.
• Tampa Electric Company (Tampa, Florida), a unit of Emera Incorporated (TSE:EMA) (Halifax, Nova Scotia), invested about $700 million to add about 500 MW of new gas-fired generation capacity at the Polk County Generating Station.
• A unit of Duke Energy Corporation (NYSE:DUK) (Charlotte, North Carolina) uprated Units 1-4 at its Hines Energy Complex. That project cost about $160 million and added about 190 MW of new generating capacity.

Under Construction

• FPL is constructing the grassroot, 1,600-MW Okeechobee Clean Energy Center in Okeechobee County. Construction began in early 2017 and is expected to finish next summer. A unit of Zachry (San Antonio, Texas) is providing EPC services to this $1.2 billion project.
• The City of Tallahassee's municipal utility is repowering its Arvah B Hopkins Power Station by replacing retired combustion turbines and steam turbine generators with four gas-fired reciprocating engine generators totaling 74 MW. This $44 million project is scheduled to be complete in early 2019.

Planned
In addition to the two Seminole Electric Projects mentioned above, these Florida gas-fired power projects are scheduled to begin construction over the next two years:

• FPL is scheduled to invest about $888 million to modernize its Lauderdale Combined-Cycle Power Station, which will add about 1,200 MW of new gas-fired generation to the utility's portfolio. That project is scheduled to begin construction next month and to be operating by mid-2022. For more information, see Industrial Info's project report.
• Gulf Power Company (Pensacola, Florida), a unit of Southern Company (NYSE:SO) (Atlanta, Georgia), is adding 243 MW of new combustion turbine-generating capacity at its Scholz Generating Station in Sneads, Florida. For more information on the $240 million project, see Industrial Info's project report.
• Gulf Power also plans to add 243 MW of combustion turbine-generating capacity to its Lansing Smith Power Station in Lynn Haven, Florida, at a cost of about $243 million. For more information, see Industrial Info's project report.

Further into the future, Seminole Electric Cooperative plans to add about 486 MW of gas-fired generation to its existing Gilchrist County Generating Station site, in Gilchrist County, Florida. That $450 million project has been delayed several times in recent years, and current plans show construction beginning in late 2025. For more information, see Industrial Info's project report.

Industrial Info Resources (IIR), with global headquarters in Sugar Land, Texas, six offices in North America and 12 international offices, is the leading provider of global market intelligence specializing in the industrial process, heavy manufacturing and energy markets. Industrial Info's quality-assurance philosophy, the Living Forward Reporting Principle™, provides up-to-the-minute intelligence on what's happening now, while constantly keeping track of future opportunities. Follow IIR on: Facebook - Twitter - LinkedIn. For more information on our coverage, send inquiries to info@industrialinfo.com or visit us online at http://www.industrialinfo.com/.