JUNO BEACH, Fla., March 28, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- Florida Power
& Light Company, one of the nation's cleanest energy companies,
today announced a plan to build the world's largest solar-powered
battery system – four times the capacity of the largest battery
system in operation – as part of an innovative modernization plan
that will accelerate the retirement of two fossil fuel generation
units.
The future FPL Manatee Energy Storage Center will have 409
megawatts of capacity – the equivalent of approximately 100 million
iPhone batteries – when it begins serving customers in late 2021
and will be charged by an existing FPL solar power plant in
Manatee County. By deploying
energy from the batteries when there is higher demand for
electricity, FPL will offset the need to run other power plants –
further reducing emissions and saving customers money through
avoided fuel costs.
"This is a monumental milestone in realizing the full benefits
of solar power and yet another example of how FPL is working hard
to position Florida as the global gold standard for clean energy,"
said Eric Silagy, president and CEO
of FPL. "Even as we aggressively execute on our plan to install 30
million solar panels by 2030, we never lose sight of finding
innovative ways to bring our customers the benefits of solar
energy, even when the sun's not shining. Replacing a large, aging
fossil fuel plant with a mega battery that's adjacent to a large
solar plant is another world-first accomplishment and while I'm
very pleased of that fact, what I'm most proud of is that our team
remained committed to developing this clean energy breakthrough
while saving customers money and keeping their bills among the
lowest in the nation."
The FPL Manatee Energy Storage Center is part of an innovative
modernization plan to accelerate the retirement of two, 1970s-era
natural gas generating units at FPL's neighboring power plant, and
replace them with clean and renewable energy. In addition to the
energy storage system in Manatee
County, FPL is planning smaller battery installations across
the state, numerous solar power plants and efficiency upgrades to
existing combustion turbines at other power plants to replace the
1,638 megawatts of generating capacity. The project will save
customers more than $100 million and
eliminate more than 1 million tons of carbon dioxide emissions.
"FPL is pioneering a clean energy revolution for our state
that's come full circle for our community," said Stephen Jonsson, chairman of the board of County
Commissioners in Manatee County.
"It seems like just yesterday that FPL kicked off its massive solar
expansion in 2016 by opening a solar power plant in Parrish. Fast forward a few years, and our
hometown solar power plant is on the verge of powering the world's
largest solar-powered battery system. This modernization plan is
truly an incredible feat and consistent with our commitment as
leaders to keep sustainability at the forefront of every project
that takes place in Manatee
County. It's why we continue to stand shoulder-to-shoulder
with FPL to help do our part to shape Florida's clean energy
future."
409-MW FPL Manatee
Energy Storage Center
|
Metric
|
Equivalent
to
|
The FPL Manatee
Energy Storage Center
will cover a
40-acre parcel of
land
|
25 square city
blocks
|
30 football
fields
|
130 Olympic-size
swimming pools
|
The FPL Manatee
Energy Storage Center
will be able to distribute
900 MWh of
electricity
|
Powering 329,000
homes for 2 hours
|
100 million iPhone
batteries
|
300 million AA
batteries
|
An innovative approach to modernizing power
generation
For nearly two decades, FPL has methodically
modernized its power generation fleet and transformed it into one
of the cleanest and most efficient in the country, saving customers
nearly $10 billion and eliminating
more than 130 million tons of carbon dioxide emissions since 2001.
As part of the modernization program, FPL has historically replaced
old, oil-burning plants with highly efficient energy centers that
run on clean, U.S.-produced natural gas.
Now, as the price of battery and solar technology continues to
decline and FPL has learned how to optimize the technology to best
serve customers, the company is taking an innovative approach to
modernizing its fleet and tearing down two aging natural gas
units that have dotted the Parrish
skyline for nearly 50 years.
"Manatee County is always happy
to work with FPL," said Manatee
County Commissioner Priscilla
Trace. "As a person who works across the street from the
plant, FPL is a good neighbor and the company's continued success
and plan to modernize the facility is good for the Parrish community."
"The way we generate, store, transport and use electricity is
being reinvented. New technology, like large-scale battery storage,
is a critical step on the path to a cleaner, cheaper and more
efficient energy future. Achieving this outcome is critical to the
well-being of our economy, our communities and our planet," said
Temperince Morgan, executive director of the Florida Chapter of The
Nature Conservancy.
FPL also remains poised to eliminate its only remaining coal
plant in Florida by the end of
this year. The company also shut down two coal plants in
Jacksonville in 2016 and 2018,
respectively, collectively preventing nearly 7 million tons of
carbon dioxide emissions annually while saving customers tens of
millions of dollars in fuel and operating costs.
Extending the life of solar power
The future FPL
Manatee Energy Storage Center is the latest chapter of the
company's development of battery storage technology. For many
years, FPL and its sister companies have researched battery storage
technology to study a variety of potential benefits, from
reliability and grid stabilization to improved solar integration.
In 2018, FPL unveiled the largest combined operating solar and
storage power plant at Babcock Ranch in Charlotte County, uniquely advantageous
because of the ability to harness extra energy produced at solar
power plants when the sun's rays are strongest. The additional
solar energy and the increased predictability afforded by battery
storage enables FPL to more efficiently dispatch other power
plants, helping save customers on fuel costs while reducing
emissions.
Making Florida a world leader in solar energy
FPL's
investments in battery storage technology directly complement the
company's expansion of solar energy – which has now grown into the
one of the largest in the world. With 18 solar power plants
currently in operation and four more entering construction, FPL is
Florida's largest producer of solar power. In January, the company
announced its groundbreaking "30-by-30" plan to install 30 million
solar panels by 2030, which will make Florida a global leader in
solar energy production. Then, in March, the company unveiled the
FPL SolarTogetherSM program, the country's largest
community solar program that will enable customers to harness the
power of the sun like never before while lowering their electric
rates and bills over the long term.
Florida Power & Light
Company
Florida Power & Light Company is the
largest energy company in the United
States as measured by retail electricity produced and sold,
serving more than 5 million customer accounts or an estimated 10
million+ people across the state of Florida. FPL's typical
1,000-kWh residential customer bill is approximately 30 percent
lower than the latest national average and among the lowest in the
U.S. FPL's service reliability is better than 99.98 percent, and
its highly fuel-efficient power plant fleet is one of the cleanest
among all electric companies nationwide. The company was recognized
in 2018 as one of the most trusted U.S. electric utilities by
Market Strategies International for the fifth consecutive year. A
leading Florida employer with approximately 9,100 employees, FPL is
a subsidiary of Juno Beach,
Florida-based NextEra Energy, Inc. (NYSE: NEE), a clean
energy company widely recognized for its efforts in sustainability,
ethics and diversity, and has been ranked No. 1 in the electric and
gas utilities industry in Fortune's 2019 list of "World's Most
Admired Companies." NextEra Energy is also the parent company of
Gulf Power Company, which serves more than 460,000 customers in
eight counties throughout Northwest
Florida, and NextEra Energy Resources, LLC, which, together
with its affiliated entities, is the world's largest generator of
renewable energy from the wind and sun and a world leader in
battery storage. For more information about NextEra Energy
companies, visit these websites: www.NextEraEnergy.com,
www.FPL.com, www.GulfPower.com, www.NextEraEnergyResources.com.
Cautionary Statements and Risk Factors That May Affect Future
Results
This news release contains "forward-looking
statements" within the meaning of the safe harbor provisions of the
Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Forward-looking
statements are not statements of historical facts, but instead
represent the current expectations of NextEra Energy, Inc. (NextEra
Energy) and Florida Power &
Light Company (FPL) regarding future operating results and other
future events, many of which, by their nature, are inherently
uncertain and outside of NextEra Energy's and FPL's control.
Forward-looking statements in this news release include, among
others, statements concerning future operating performance. In some
cases, you can identify the forward-looking statements by words or
phrases such as "will," "may result," "expect," "anticipate,"
"believe," "intend," "plan," "seek," "potential," "projection,"
"forecast," "predict," "goals," "target," "outlook," "should,"
"would" or similar words or expressions. You should not place undue
reliance on these forward-looking statements, which are not a
guarantee of future performance. The future results of NextEra
Energy and FPL and their business and financial condition are
subject to risks and uncertainties that could cause their actual
results to differ materially from those expressed or implied in the
forward-looking statements, or may require them to limit or
eliminate certain operations. These risks and uncertainties
include, but are not limited to, the following: effects of
extensive regulation of NextEra Energy's and FPL's business
operations; inability of NextEra Energy and FPL to recover in a
timely manner any significant amount of costs, a return on certain
assets or a reasonable return on invested capital through base
rates, cost recovery clauses, other regulatory mechanisms or
otherwise; impact of political, regulatory and economic factors on
regulatory decisions important to NextEra Energy and FPL;
disallowance of cost recovery by FPL based on a finding of
imprudent use of derivative instruments; effect of any reductions
or modifications to, or elimination of, governmental incentives or
policies that support utility scale renewable energy projects of
NextEra Energy Resources, LLC and its affiliated entities (NextEra
Energy Resources) or the imposition of additional tax laws,
policies or assessments on renewable energy; impact of new or
revised laws, regulations, interpretations or other regulatory
initiatives on NextEra Energy and FPL;; capital expenditures,
increased operating costs and various liabilities attributable to
environmental laws, regulations and other standards applicable to
NextEra Energy and FPL; effects on NextEra Energy and FPL of
federal or state laws or regulations mandating new or additional
limits on the production of greenhouse gas emissions; exposure of
NextEra Energy and FPL to significant and increasing compliance
costs and substantial monetary penalties and other sanctions as a
result of extensive federal regulation of their operations and
businesses; effect on NextEra Energy and FPL of changes in tax
laws, guidance or policies as well as in judgments and estimates
used to determine tax-related asset and liability amounts; impact
on NextEra Energy and FPL of adverse results of litigation; effect
on NextEra Energy and FPL of failure to proceed with projects under
development or inability to complete the construction of (or
capital improvements to) electric generation, transmission and
distribution facilities, gas infrastructure facilities or other
facilities on schedule or within budget; impact on development and
operating activities of NextEra Energy and FPL resulting from risks
related to project siting, financing, construction, permitting,
governmental approvals and the negotiation of project development
agreements; risks involved in the operation and maintenance of
electric generation, transmission and distribution facilities, gas
infrastructure facilities and other facilities; effect on NextEra
Energy and FPL of a lack of growth or slower growth in the number
of customers or in customer usage; impact on NextEra Energy and FPL
of severe weather and other weather conditions; threats of
terrorism and catastrophic events that could result from terrorism,
cyber attacks or other attempts to disrupt NextEra Energy's and
FPL's business or the businesses of third parties; inability to
obtain adequate insurance coverage for protection of NextEra Energy
and FPL against significant losses and risk that insurance coverage
does not provide protection against all significant losses; a
prolonged period of low gas and oil prices could impact NextEra
Energy Resources' gas infrastructure business and cause NextEra
Energy Resources to delay or cancel certain gas infrastructure
projects and for certain existing projects to be impaired; risk to
NextEra Energy Resources of increased operating costs resulting
from unfavorable supply costs necessary to provide NextEra Energy
Resources' full energy and capacity requirement services; inability
or failure by NextEra Energy Resources to manage properly or hedge
effectively the commodity risk within its portfolio; effect of
reductions in the liquidity of energy markets on NextEra Energy's
ability to manage operational risks; effectiveness of NextEra
Energy's and FPL's risk management tools associated with their
hedging and trading procedures to protect against significant
losses, including the effect of unforeseen price variances from
historical behavior; impact of unavailability or disruption of
power transmission or commodity transportation facilities on sale
and delivery of power or natural gas by FPL and NextEra Energy
Resources; exposure of NextEra Energy and FPL to credit and
performance risk from customers, hedging counterparties and
vendors; failure of NextEra Energy or FPL counterparties to perform
under derivative contracts or of requirement for NextEra Energy or
FPL to post margin cash collateral under derivative contracts;
failure or breach of NextEra Energy's or FPL's information
technology systems; risks to NextEra Energy and FPL's retail
businesses from compromise of sensitive customer data; losses from
volatility in the market values of derivative instruments and
limited liquidity in OTC markets; impact of negative publicity;
inability of NextEra Energy and FPL to maintain, negotiate or
renegotiate acceptable franchise agreements with municipalities and
counties in Florida; occurrence of
work strikes or stoppages and increasing personnel costs; NextEra
Energy's ability to successfully identify, complete and integrate
acquisitions, including the effect of increased competition for
acquisitions; NextEra Energy Partners, LP's (NEP's) acquisitions
may not be completed and, even if completed, NextEra Energy may not
realize the anticipated benefits of any acquisitions;
environmental, health and financial risks associated with NextEra
Energy Resources' and FPL's ownership and operation of nuclear
generation facilities; liability of NextEra Energy and FPL for
significant retrospective assessments and/or retrospective
insurance premiums in the event of an incident at certain nuclear
generation facilities; increased operating and capital expenditures
and/or result in reduced revenues at nuclear generation facilities
of NextEra Energy or FPL resulting from orders or new regulations
of the Nuclear Regulatory Commission; inability to operate any of
NextEra Energy Resources' or FPL's owned nuclear generation units
through the end of their respective operating licenses; effect of
disruptions, uncertainty or volatility in the credit and capital
markets on NextEra Energy's and FPL's ability to fund their
liquidity and capital needs and meet their growth objectives;
inability of NextEra Energy, FPL and NextEra Energy Capital
Holdings, Inc. to maintain their current credit ratings; impairment
of NextEra Energy's and FPL's liquidity from inability of credit
providers to fund their credit commitments or to maintain their
current credit ratings; poor market performance and other economic
factors that could affect NextEra Energy's defined benefit pension
plan's funded status; poor market performance and other risks to
the asset values of NextEra Energy's and FPL's nuclear
decommissioning funds; changes in market value and other risks to
certain of NextEra Energy's investments; effect of inability of
NextEra Energy subsidiaries to pay upstream dividends or repay
funds to NextEra Energy or of NextEra Energy's performance under
guarantees of subsidiary obligations on NextEra Energy's ability to
meet its financial obligations and to pay dividends on its common
stock; the fact that the amount and timing of dividends payable on
NextEra Energy's common stock, as well as the dividend policy
approved by NextEra Energy's board of directors from time to time,
and changes to that policy, are within the sole discretion of
NextEra Energy's board of directors and, if declared and paid,
dividends may be in amounts that are less than might be expected by
shareholders; NEP's inability to access sources of capital on
commercially reasonable terms could have an effect on its ability
to consummate future acquisitions and on the value of NextEra
Energy's limited partner interest in NextEra Energy Operating
Partners, LP; and effects of disruptions, uncertainty or volatility
in the credit and capital markets on the market price of NextEra
Energy's common stock. NextEra Energy and FPL discuss these and
other risks and uncertainties in their annual report on Form 10-K
for the year ended December 31, 2016
and other SEC filings, and this news release should be read in
conjunction with such SEC filings made through the date of this
news release. The forward-looking statements made in this news
release are made only as of the date of this news release and
NextEra Energy and FPL undertake no obligation to update any
forward-looking statements.
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SOURCE Florida Power & Light
Company