Tag: Next
FPL Plans to Build 1,500 MW of Solar in Next Two Years
Florida Power & Light (FPL) continues to add to its solar power portfolio, with the utility on March 13 announcing plans to build the largest community solar program in the U.S.
Eric Silagy, FPL’s president and CEO, in a statement said, “We’ve been aggressively expanding solar with one goal in mind: bringing more solar to all of our customers cost-effectively while continuing to keep their bills lower than 90 percent of the country. This innovative program is another major step forward in our ‘30-by-30’ plan, which is one of the world’s largest solar expansions, and also an unprecedented opportunity for our customers to harness the power of the sun like never before.”
The company’s FPL SolarTogether program, which needs approval from the state’s Public Service Commission, would allow customers to receive a credit on their bills from the utility’s cost savings from solar power. FPL plans to build 20 solar power plants, with total generation capacity of 1,490 MW, over the next two years.…
Minnesota May Be Next to Support Nuclear Plants
Following the lead of Illinois and New York, which have enacted policies supporting nuclear power plants, the Minnesota Legislature is weighing a bill that could help the owner of two nuclear facilities within its borders.
Minnesota is home to the single-unit 671-MW Monticello nuclear plant and the dual-unit 1,100-MW Prairie Island plant (Figure 1). Xcel Energy owns a 100% stake in both of them.
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1. Home on the prairie. The Prairie Island Nuclear Generating Station generates about 20% of the electricity used by Xcel Energy’s customers in the Upper Midwest. Unit 1 began operation in December 1973 and Unit 2 followed in December 1974. The reactors are licensed until 2033 and 2034, respectively. Courtesy: Nuclear Management Co. |
Current Minnesota regulations require investor-owned utilities, such as Xcel, to file multi-year integrated resource plans (IRPs) with the Minnesota Public Utilities Commission (MPUC). Companies give details about their future generation mix in the IRPs. Once the MPUC approves the plan, the utility decides how much money to allocate toward capital, and operations and maintenance expenses at each of its generation facilities.…