Progress Energy Starts Construction of Third 500 Megawatt Power Block at the Hines Generation Complex

---

Researched by Industrialinfo.com (Industrial Information Resources, Incorporated; Houston, Texas). Progress Energy Florida, Incorporated (Saint Petersburg, Florida), a subsidiary of Progress Energy, Incorporated (NYSE: PGN) (Raleigh, North Carolina) is set to start construction next week on the $280 Million Power Block 3 (PB-3) 500-megawatt expansion of the Hines Generation Complex located in Bartow, Florida in Polk County. (Plant 1012839, PEC 05002021)

PB-3, which is scheduled for commercial startup in December of 2005, will be the third power block of five to be built at the Hines Generation Complex. Progress Energy placed the second power block into commercial service in December of 2003, and the bidding process for a proposed fourth unit at the site has already started. Power Blocks four and five are scheduled for commercial startup in late 2007 and 2009 respectively.

The project will consist of two dual fueled 170-megawatt Siemens Westinghouse Power Corporation W501FD combustion turbine generators, two Nooter/Erickson supplementary-fired heat recovery steam generators and a single 200-megawatt Siemens Westinghouse triple pressure reheat steam turbine generator. The project will also feature state-of-the art air emissions-reduction technology, including selective catalytic reduction (SCR) for the control of NOx emissions, and the use of catalytic oxidation for the control of CO emissions.

Progress awarded the joint venture EPC contract to Bibb & Associates (a subsidiary of Peter Kewiet and Sons Company), headquartered in Lenexa, Kansas and S&B Engineers and Constructors (Houston, Texas). S&B will provide overall project management, purchasing, and construction and Bibb will provide detailed design engineering, construction support, and start-up/commissioning management for the joint venture.