| Type | Subsidiary of NextEra Energy Inc. |
|---|---|
| Industry | Electric Utilities |
| Founded | 1925 |
| Headquarters | Juno Beach, Florida, USA |
| Area served | Florida |
| Key people | Armando Olivera President |
| Products | Electricity generation, transmission and distribution |
| Employees | 11,000 |
| Website | fpl.com |
Florida Power & Light Company, the principal subsidiary of NextEra Energy Inc. (formerly FPL Group, Inc.), commonly referred to by its initials, FPL, is a Juno Beach, Florida-based power utility which serves roughly 4.4 million customers in Florida. FPL Group holds power generation assets in more than 20 U.S. states.
Contents |
FPL was founded in 1925 by merging together a number of smaller companies providing power and other services to local communities in Florida, and grew with the growth in population the state has experienced.
FPL was the first company outside of Japan to win the Deming Prize in 1989. Dr. Noriaki Kano was one of the consultants that helped FPL to reach this stature.
On June 20, 2005, FPL Group completed acquisition of Gexa Energy,[1] a retail electricity provider located in Houston and active in the deregulated Texas electricity market. At the time of acquisition, Gexa Energy had grown to over $273 million in 2004 revenues and further had been serving 100,000 total meters within the state of Texas. FPL Group acquired Gexa Energy for approximately US$81 million.
On December 19, 2005, FPL Group, Inc. announced that it was purchasing Constellation Energy in a merger transaction valued at more than US$11 billion and that it would adopt "Constellation Energy" as its name for the post-merger entity. The merger was cancelled on 25 October 2006.[2]
On June 6, 2007, the state of Florida rejected FPL's proposal to build a coal-burning power plant on 5,000 acres (20 km2) in Moore Haven, Florida, near the western edge of Lake Okeechobee, citing concerns that it would emit toxic mercury in the lake and also harm the Everglades. FPL stated that the decision could result in higher electricity rates for customers.
On August 13, 2007, FPL workers at the company's St. Lucie Nuclear plant in Florida discovered a leak in one of the facility's condensation pumps. The plant was ordered to reduce its power output until repairs were made.[3]
In 2008 activists complained about the 3,800 megawatt gas/diesel West County Energy Center, then under construction. They argued that the location of the power plant, less than 1,000 feet (300 m) from the northern point of the Arthur R. Marshall Loxahatchee National Wildlife Refuge, would endanger the entire Everglades ecosystem including the approximately thirty threatened or endangered species that live in the refuge. They argued that millions of gallons of waste water will be deep-well injected below the Floridan aquifer daily, putting a strain on water supplies in South Florida if the power plant is completed.[4]
On February 26, 2008, a large power outage occurred after eight power plants went off-line in the region which affected approximately 600,000 to 800,000 Florida residents.[5]
Beginning on January 5, 2009, 30 environmental activists staged a five-day vigil along the Barley Barber Swamp, a 440-acre (1.8 km2) old growth cypress forest owned by Florida Power & Light, to draw attention to what they claimed were damages being wrought by the power company's 3,705 megawatt Martin County plant. The activists claim that the Martin County power plant is drawing water from the aquifer below the swamp causing the soil to subside below the root systems of the trees. They also claim that the swamp exhibits several trees aged over 1,000 years, making them the oldest in Florida. On January 10 seventeen of the activists were arrested for trespassing. Florida Power & Light has since stated that the company will reopen the Barley Barber Swamp by 2010.[6]
On January 7, 2009, FPL Energy announced it was changing its name to NextEra Energy Resources to highlight its commitment to renewable energy.[7]
In 2011, construction was started on a $1.1 billion gas-fired plant replacement of its "Cape Canaveral" facility in Sharpes.[8]
At 3,705 MW, FPL's Martin County Power Plant, which burns gas and oil, is currently the single largest fossil fuel burning power plant in the United States.[9] It is located in Western Martin County, just north of Indiantown. It was originally permitted in the early 1970s and has expanded to its current size since. The plant is cooled with water which is then pumped into the surrounding 17-mile (27 km) cooling pond, one of the largest bodies of water in the state of Florida.[10] Jutting into the cooling pond is the Barley Barber Swamp, a 440-acre (1.8 km2) plot of old growth pond cypress forest, which is home to bald eagles and numerous other threatened plant and animal species.[11]
FPL is currently constructing a permitted 3,800 megawatt power plant, the West County Energy Center (WCEC) in Northern Palm Beach County, in the Everglades Agricultural Area, 1,000 feet (300 m) from the Arthur R. Marshall Loxahatchee Wildlife Refuge. The refuge functions as the northern headwaters of the entire southern Everglades ecosystem. Once completed, the WCEC will be the largest fossil fuel power plant in the United States.[12]
FPL is majority owner and operator of the St. Lucie and Turkey Point nuclear power plants.
FPL has proposed building two more nuclear generators at Turkey Point.
FPL is building the Martin Next Generation Solar Energy Center — a $476 million, 75 MW(peak) parabolic trough array on 500 acres (200 ha) of the Martin County, Florida plant. The solar collectors will feed heat to the existing steam plant, reducing the need for gas.[13] The energy from the solar array will generate power at a rate of 155,000 MW·h per year (18 MW).[14]
FPL is building two solar photovoltaic power generation systems at Kennedy Space Center.[2]
Now operational is the 25MW DeSoto Next Generation Solar Energy Center in DeSoto County, Florida.[15] . The facility uses more than 90,000 photovoltaic panels to supply power more than 3,000 homes.
Florida Power & Light proposed to build a 75-megawatt solar photovoltaic array at Babcock Ranch, the nation's first proposed solar-powered city, located in Lee and Charlotte Counties, Florida.[16]
After Hurricane Wilma, FPL reported that about 3 million customers were without power in the South Florida area. About 20 days later, with the help of other power companies, FPL restored the majority of power in Dade, Broward, and Palm Beach counties.
In April 2009, BusinessWeek magazine reported that FPL Group was one of 25 US companies that paid the least US taxes. FPL Group paid a 1.3 percent annual tax rate, far less than the standard 35 percent corporate rate, based on an analysis of the company's financial figures for 2005-2008. On more than $7 billion in company earnings during this four-year period, FPL Group paid $88 million in taxes. This low rate was possible given tax breaks for having invested in alternative energy. A company spokesperson said the company is merely taking advantage of incentives to develop renewable resources. To ensure these tax breaks continue, in 2008 alone, FPL Group paid more than $500,000 to five major lobbying firms that lobby Congress.[17]
|
|||||