Florida’s First Joint Action Power Project Turns 30
Project enabled Florida cities to be owners of a nuclear power plant
ORLANDO, Fla., Aug. 14, 2013 – Florida’s municipal electric utilities mark today the 30th anniversary of a project that gave 15 cities the rare opportunity to be joint owners of a nuclear power plant.
The St. Lucie Project is an 8.8% ownership interest in St. Lucie Unit 2, an 875-megawatt nuclear power plant on Hutchinson Island, Fla. Forming the St. Lucie Project was one of the first strategic goals ofFlorida Municipal Power Agency (FMPA), which was founded in 1978 to allow its members to jointly finance power generation projects.
Today, FMPA’s St. Lucie Project supplies a total of 77 megawatts of electricity to 15 cities including: Alachua, Clewiston, Fort Meade, Fort Pierce, Green Cove Springs, Homestead, Jacksonville Beach, Kissimmee, Lake Worth, Leesburg, Moore Haven, New Smyrna Beach, Newberry, Starke and Vero Beach.
The project’s history began in 1974, when 20 Florida cities requested the right to participate in proposed nuclear projects. Following an eight-year legal process, the utilities reached a settlement that allowed them to become joint owners of the state’s newest nuclear plant, St. Lucie Unit 2. The St. Lucie Project’s legal and financial documents were validated in March 1983, and Unit 2 began commercial operation on Aug. 14, 1983.
“Creating the St. Lucie Project was a major milestone for Florida’s municipal electric utilities, and it paved the way for future joint action projects in the state,” said FMPA General Manager and CEO Nicholas P. Guarriello. “St. Lucie Unit 2 has, for 30 years now, provided reliable power supply and an element of fuel diversity to Florida’s municipal electric utilities.”
Learn more about the history of municipal joint action in Florida through FMPA’s history booklet, “The Sum of Our Efforts,” and video interviews with FMPA’s founders.
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Florida Municipal Power Agency (FMPA) is a wholesale power company owned by 31 municipal electric utilities. FMPA provides economies of scale in power generation and related services to support community-owned electric utilities. The members of FMPA serve approximately two million Floridians.