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FMPA Breaks Ground on New Power Plant
ORLANDO,
Fla., Aug. 8, 2006 – The Florida Municipal Power Agency
(FMPA) will break ground Wednesday, Aug. 9, 2006 on the construction
of a high-efficiency, natural gas-fired power plant in St.
Lucie County, Fla., near the city of Fort Pierce.
Construction of the $257.4 million project is expected to
take two years, creating up to 300 construction jobs at the
peak. Treasure Coast Energy Center Unit 1 is scheduled to
begin operation in 2008, at which time it will employ 16 full-time
operators.
“This
groundbreaking is an important milestone in FMPA’s continued
efforts to provide reliable, cost-effective power to our growing
member communities,” said FMPA General Manager and CEO
Roger Fontes. “Today honors FMPA’s promise to
modernize our generation fleet while meeting our member cities’
power needs in an efficient, economical and environmentally
friendly manner.”
FMPA is
a wholesale power agency owned by municipal electric utilities
in Florida. Power from the plant will serve thousands of electric
customers in Fort Pierce, Vero Beach, Lake Worth and Clewiston,
along with the cities of Bushnell, Fort Meade, Green Cove
Springs, Town of Havana, Jacksonville Beach, Key West, Kissimmee,
Leesburg, Newberry, Ocala and Starke.
This high-efficiency,
natural gas-fired power plant will generate 300 Megawatts,
enough electricity to serve approximately 60,000 homes in
Florida. The power plant, with its advanced environmental
control technologies, will be one of the lowest emission plants
in Florida and one of the highest efficiency plants in the
state. The plant will also use recycled water from a planned
Fort Pierce Utilities Authority Wastewater Reclamation Facility
being constructed north of Treasure Coast Energy Center.
The 69-acre
Treasure Coast Energy Center site is located in the Midway
Industrial Park, southwest of Fort Pierce, along Glades Cut-Off
Road. The site has also been identified for up to three similar
units, which could produce an additional 900 Megawatts. Additional
units would be added as power needs require and subject to
issuance of required approvals.
Treasure
Coast Energy Center will be wholly owned by FMPA, and it will
be operated under contract by Fort Pierce Utilities Authority.
FMPA selected the plant’s location because it is near
several FMPA cities that are experiencing increased demand
for electricity. The proposed plant location is also well-positioned
to avoid congestion on the state’s high-voltage electric
transmission system.
“This
region of Florida is growing rapidly, and it is critical that
we get additional electricity into the grid,” said Elie
J. Boudreaux III, director of utilities for Fort Pierce Utilities
Authority. “Since FPUA’s goal is to provide economical
service to our customers, we are glad that this new plant
will produce twice the amount of electricity that our older
electric generating facilities do at the same cost.”
More information
about Treasure Coast Energy Center is available on FMPA’s
Web site at www.fmpa.com.
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Florida
Municipal Power Agency (FMPA) is a wholesale power company
owned by 30 municipal electric utilities. FMPA provides economies
of scale in power generation and related services to support
community-owned electric utilities. The members of FMPA serve
approximately 1.9 million Floridians. FMPA’s members
include Alachua, Bartow, Blountstown, Bushnell, Chattahoochee,
Clewiston, Fort Meade, Fort Pierce, Gainesville, Green Cove
Springs, Havana, Homestead, Jacksonville Beach, Key West,
Kissimmee, Lake Worth, Lakeland, Leesburg, Moore Haven, Mount
Dora, New Smyrna Beach, Newberry, Ocala, Orlando, Quincy,
St. Cloud, Starke, Vero Beach, Wauchula and Williston. Additional
information is available on the Internet at www.fmpa.com.
FMPA Contact:
Mark McCain
Assistant General Manager,
Public Relations and Human Resources
(407) 355-7767
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