December 1, 2011

Top Plant: Martin Next Generation Solar Energy Center, Indiantown, Martin County, Florida

By Angela Neville, JD

Owner/operator: NextEra Energy Inc., a subsidiary Florida Power & Light Co.

The 75-MW Martin Next Generation Solar Energy Center is the first hybrid solar facility in the world to combine a solar thermal array with a combined cycle natural gas power plant. Because the facility uses a steam turbine, transmission lines, and other infrastructure from an existing combined cycle unit, financial savings of approximately 20% were achieved compared to what a similar stand-alone solar plant would have cost.

Courtesy: Florida Power & Light Co.

Located in a region that has abundant wetlands, wildlife, and bald cypress trees, the new 75-MW Martin Next Generation Solar Energy Center is protecting the environment by harnessing the power of the sun to generate zero-emission electricity. By using solar energy to supplement the power production of an adjacent gas plant, the plant’s innovative technology helps reduce Florida’s carbon footprint. The plant will decrease fossil fuel usage by more than approximately 41 billion cubic feet of natural gas over the project’s lifetime. The mirrors used in the parabolic trough arrays require no fuel or additional cooling water and produce no waste.

The Florida Power & Light (FPL) facility was completed on schedule and more than $75 million under budget. It entered commercial operation in December 2010 and is projected to produce 155,000 MWh per year, which is enough to serve almost 11,000 homes or 26,000 people.

“The solar trough technology FPL is using at the new Martin facility is an advanced version of the proven technology being used by NextEra Energy’s other major subsidiary, NextEra Energy Resources, at the Solar Energy Generating Systems (SEGS) in California’s Mojave Desert,” Timothy Bryant, Martin Next Generation Solar Energy Center production manager, told POWER in October. “SEGS is the largest solar thermal site in the world, and the new Martin facility is the largest in the eastern United States.”