Florida Power & Light is asking state regulators to approve a proposal that would eventually lead to the utility buying electricity from renewable-energy plants in Clay, Martin and Okeechobee counties.
FPL last week filed documents with the state Public Service Commission to seek approval of contracts with subsidiaries of U.S. EcoGen, LLC.
The documents indicate that FPL would buy energy produced at three U.S. EcoGen plants that would use biomass as fuel. The documents also state, U.S. EcoGen would start delivering energy in 2019 or before. They do not detail the type of biomass that would be used, but the fuel would be farmed on dedicated land.
Thomas Hartman, a director of business management for FPL, said in one of the documents that the proposal would help diversify the sources of energy for FPL, which relies heavily on natural gas to fuel its plants. In written testimony, Hartman said the contracts would “increase fuel diversity and fuel supply reliability, reduce reliance on fossil fuels in the production of electricity and add renewable generation on FPL’s system.”
