FPL is working to replace our aging power plant in Dania Beach with a new, highly efficient clean energy center. Florida’s Siting Board unanimously approved our plans following extensive reviews by numerous county, state and federal government agencies. Responses to typical questions follow below.
The future FPL Dania Beach Clean Energy Center is the next phase in our ongoing program to modernize FPL’s fleet of power-generating plants with new facilities powered by affordable, clean, U.S.-produced natural gas. It will replace the existing power plant that has operated on FPL property in Dania Beach, Broward County for nearly a quarter of a century. The new energy center will be one of the cleanest, most efficient of its kind in the world.
The planned facility will generate approximately 1,200 megawatts of energy fueled by clean, U.S.-produced natural gas – enough to provide power around-the-clock for approximately 250,000 homes. Compared to the continued operation of our current plant, the proposed new facility will:
We anticipate operations to begin in 2022.
FPL’s estimated $888 million investment will generate substantial economic benefits for Broward County and Southeast Florida, including:
Additional indirect benefits through our purchase of goods and services from area businesses
See Economic Benefits to learn more.
FPL’s Dania Beach property is an ideal site for this modernization project. Our first power plant began operations there in 1927, and it has been the site of power generation ever since. The current facility began operating nearly a quarter-century ago, and the technology – some of it dating back to the 1950s – is aging. Key attributes of the site include:
FPL is committed to environmental excellence in everything we do. Fueled by U.S.-produced natural gas, our future Dania Beach Clean Energy Center will be one of the cleanest, most efficient of its kind in the world. Compared with the continued operation of the existing power plant on the property, our new facility will cut primary air emissions by approximately 70 percent, generate more energy and reduce FPL’s overall use of natural gas system-wide.
We plan to use several key components of the existing energy systems on the property – no new offsite power transmission lines, no new electric substations and no new natural gas pipeline will be required. Also, FPL’s existing power plant in Dania Beach is an important haven for manatees during cold weather, and our new facility will preserve this important warm-water refuge.
The future facility is part of FPL’s ongoing investments in high-efficiency power generation facilities fueled by U.S.- produced natural gas. Since 2001, these investments have prevented more than 120 million tons of carbon emissions, enabled us to shut down coal-burning power plants and reduce our use of foreign oil by 99 percent – from more than 40 million barrels per year to less than 1 million.
See Protecting the Environment to learn more.
FPL is by far the largest producer of solar power in Florida. Today, FPL operates 14 solar power plants and plans to quadruple its solar capacity in the next decade.
While smart investments in cost-effective solar power remain a crucial part of FPL’s energy strategy, the fact remains solar power cannot produce electricity 24 hours a day – including some times when customers’ electricity use is at its peak, such as cold winter nights or stormy, hot summer days. That requires us to maintain a balanced mix of resources – including power generation facilities that operate 24 hours a day – to meet the round-the-clock electricity needs of our customers.
More power generation is needed in the critical Southeast Florida area to keep pace with increasing energy use in Broward and Miami-Dade counties, and we continue to explore more potential solar sites. However, the opportunity to produce the equivalent amount of energy (1,200 megawatts) from solar is minimal due to the vast amount of property needed – as many as 8,000 contiguous acres of property, which is not available in Broward County and, if it were available, would be prohibitively expensive. Also, our future natural gas-fueled facility is an estimated $1.2 billion less expensive than the cost of generating an equivalent amount of energy from solar and batteries in Southeast Florida.
FPL investments in high-efficiency natural gas power plants have saved customers more than $9.3 billion in fuel costs since 2001. Our estimated $888 million investment in modernizing this location will be a huge win for our customers. Compared with the current plant, it will result in projected net savings of more than $350 million for FPL customers while producing additional economic and environmental benefits for Broward County and all of Florida.
As with the other power plant modernizations FPL has implemented since 2009, customers would not begin to pay any of the construction costs until the new facility actually enters service, which is anticipated in 2022 (subject to PSC approval).
In November 2018, Florida’s Siting Board unanimously approved the Dania Beach Clean Energy Center following extensive reviews from numerous county, state and federal agencies, where experts ensured our plants complied with all regulatory requirements. We have begun dismantling the existing plant, a process that could take up to 12 months to complete. Commercial operations are expected to begin in 2022.
FPL will retain the services of a major engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) contractor to manage the project. We anticipate the contractor will begin hiring workers sometime in 2019. Construction positions will include laborers as well as other jobs requiring specialized skills and qualifications, such as pipe fitters, electricians, millwrights and other construction trades.
FPL will encourage the EPC contractor to use local labor and other resources when possible and cost effective, and we will include additional information about job opportunities on our website when it becomes available. The new facility will also require approximately 25 skilled positions for plant operations. Additional information about those positions will be posted on our website before the facility begins operations, which is currently expected in 2022.
In addition to creating new construction jobs, the FPL Dania Beach Clean Energy Center will purchase goods and services from area businesses, such as construction subcontractors, suppliers and service providers. FPL will retain the services of a major engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) contractor to manage the project, including subcontracting with qualified area businesses before and during construction. We will include additional information on our website about needed business services when it becomes available.
In addition to companies that could work directly with the EPC contractor, other area businesses – including restaurants, convenience stores, lodging, service stations, suppliers and others – will benefit as the financial impact of the construction project ripples through the local economy.