SACE Applauds Florida Power and Light’s Announcement to Phase Out Another Coal-Fired Power Plant
Contact: Jennifer Rennicks, SACE, [email protected], 865-235-1448
Tampa, Fla. – Florida Power and Light (FPL) recently announced plans to acquire the Indiantown coal-fired generating plant south of Port St. Lucie and likely phase it out of service, resulting in a reduction of over half a million tons of carbon dioxide emissions annually. FPL, which is under a contract to buy power from the plant until 2025, claims that buying the plant outright will save customers an estimated $129 million compared with remaining under the contract.
In response to this announcement, Dr. Stephen A. Smith, Executive Director of the Southern Alliance for Clean Energy, issued this statement:
“SACE welcomes this move as an acknowledgement that coal is increasingly a bad deal for Floridians. Utilities across the Southeast are seeing that it just doesn’t make sense to keep coal plants running. Additionally, we believe it is always good news when a utility retires an inefficient coal plant and replaces it with cleaner generation.
“We hope FPL retires the Indiantown plant soon, no later than the 2018 timeline suggested in its filing. Reduced operation of this plant in the meantime is good news in terms of climate change, and for the neighboring communities who bear the brunt of its air pollution.
“This move will not only provide cleaner air and less carbon emissions, but it will also create more flexibility for the state of Florida to comply with the Environmental Protection Agency’s Clean Power Plan.
“Of course, there is always more to the story, and we have serious concerns about fuel diversity in Florida and FPL’s dependence on natural gas. We believe that FPL continues to underperform for its size with its commitment in Florida to solar, and we remain deeply concerned about their phasing out of any serious commitments to energy efficiency.”
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About Southern Alliance for Clean Energy
Founded in 1985, the Southern Alliance for Clean Energy is a nonprofit organization that promotes responsible energy choices that work to address the impacts of global climate change and ensure clean, safe, and healthy communities throughout the Southeast. Learn more at www.cleanenergy.org.