Florida Power & Light - Gas Plants

Gas Plants

At 3,705 MW, FPL's Martin County Power Plant, which burns gas and oil, is currently the single largest fossil fuel burning power plant in the United States. It is located in Western Martin County, just north of Indiantown. It was originally permitted in the early 1970s and has expanded to its current size since. The plant is cooled with water which is then pumped into the surrounding 17-mile (27 km) cooling pond, one of the largest bodies of water in the state of Florida.

FPL is currently constructing a permitted 3,800 megawatt power plant, the West County Energy Center (WCEC). It is located in northern Palm Beach County in the Everglades Agricultural Area, 1,000 feet (300 m) from the Arthur R. Marshall Loxahatchee Wildlife Refuge. The refuge functions as the northern headwaters of the entire southern Everglades ecosystem. Once completed, the WCEC will be the largest fossil fuel power plant in the United States.

In 2012, FPL was constructing a $1.2 billion gas plant to replace a demolished oil-burning plant in Port St. John, Florida.

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