FLORIDA PLANS WIND

Wind plan taking shape
Susan Salisbury, October 31, 2010 (Palm Beach Post via Herald-Tribune)

"…[Florida’s] Next-Era Energy Resources, a subsidiary of NextEra Energy, formerly known as FPL Group [produces the most U.S. wind energy]…[It] has 76 wind farms in 17 states and Canada. Its roughly 9,000 wind turbines are capable of producing enough emissions-free energy to power about 1.9 million homes…Florida, where wind resources are considered minimal, has no wind farms, and Florida Power & Light Co., NextEra Energy's utility subsidiary, wants to change that…

"In June 2007, two days after regulators rejected its proposal to build a coal plant, FPL announced its plans to build the first wind farm in Florida [a $45 million project with six wind turbines] on Hutchinson Island…[but it] met resistance from nearby residents [the St. Lucie County Audubon Society, 1000 Friends of Florida, the Indian River Keeper, the Conservation Alliance and other groups]…The site was FPL land surrounding its nuclear plant…FPL has yet to be granted a hearing…and the project is on hold…"

Florida has little onshore wind so far identified. (click to enlarge)

"…FPL has turned its attention elsewhere…[though] Florida has limited wind…FPL plans to begin testing in northwest St. Lucie soon. There might be a pocket of wind off Lake Okeechobee…St. Lucie County rancher Mike Adams said his land is being considered…Before the tests can begin, FPL is working with the county on changes in the land-use regulations to allow meteorological towers…

"In 2008, FPL was awarded a $2.5 million state grant to help pay for the coastal project estimated to cost more than $45 million. It has spent $153,800 of that on wind studies and efforts to obtain permits. That grant can be used only for the Hutchinson Island project…[Tests show] Hutchinson Island has sufficient winds [at 80 meters] to make a project economically viable…"

Florida has offshore wind riches worth investing in. (click to enlarge)

"If the wind speed at 80 meters is 1.85 times higher than at 10 meters, as the report indicates, hurricane-force winds could be a problem, said Juan Soto, a Sunrise engineer hired by the Save St. Lucie Alliance. That is because there are no wind turbines manufactured to sustain gusts that would be as high as 211 mph…Soto said environmental concerns [also] include the effects on wetlands, birds, bats, fish and sea turtles…[He] said FPL is pursuing the project for the federal tax credits…

"FPL said the federal tax credit for wind projects applies only if the turbines are producing energy and that 100 percent of the benefit goes to customers…Recent reports zero in on offshore wind in the Atlantic or the Gulf of Mexico as where the energy potential lies for Florida…Like Alabama, Georgia, Mississippi and South Carolina, Florida is too low and too flat…"