A natural gas plant in St. Petersburg can now produce significantly more power without using additional fuel, resulting in savings for customers and increasing the electric grid\u2019s resiliency.<\/p>\n
\u200bDuke Energy Florida recently completed upgrades at the Bartow Power Plant as part of one of the largest coordinated gas turbine improvement projects in the company\u2019s history. The facility, which can now produce 88 additional megawatts, opened in 2009 at 1601 Weedon Island Dr. in St. Petersburg.<\/p>\n
\u200bGeneral manager Marty Drango said the project followed a \u201cdeep dive into plant performance\u201d in 2021. The study led to efficiency upgrades at four natural gas facilities throughout Florida that have added 330 megawatts \u2013 roughly equivalent to a new, small power plant \u2013 to Duke\u2019s statewide electric grid.<\/p>\n
\u200b\u201cWe actually avoided the impact of building a power plant while providing additional power for our customers,\u201d Drango said. \u201cExtra capacity ensures the overall resiliency of the grid, meaning we have enough power to keep the lights on when our customers need it most.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u200bSt. Petersburg-based Duke Florida completed efficiency upgrades at the Osprey Energy Center in Auburndale and the City Combined Cycle Station in Crystal River in the fall. Those projects added 60 and 16 megawatts to the grid, respectively.<\/p>\n
\u200bWork on the St. Petersburg plant and Hines Energy Complex in the city of Bartow enabled the facilities to produce 255 megawatts of additional energy \u2013 a 336% increase over the previous two projects. \u201cBecause fuel costs are passed through to customers, every improvement in efficiency at our natural gas plants means real, tangible savings on their bills,\u201d Drango said.<\/p>\n
\u200b\u201cWith these upgrades, we\u2019ve created $340 million in annual fuel savings,\u201d he added. \u201cThat translates into about $10 off customers\u2019 monthly bills.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u200bLarge combustion turbines burn natural gas at the plants to produce electricity. Drango said Duke<\/a> realized that replacing key components with higher-efficiency parts would create more electricity with the same amount of fuel.<\/p>\n \u200bHe compared the process to working on a car. \u201cIf you replace pieces of the engine with newer, more efficient parts, it may be able to go faster or drive longer using less gas,\u201d Drango said.<\/p>\n \u200bThe projects required \u201cmeticulous planning across many different groups.\u201d Drango said Duke continuously explores new, innovative ways to keep \u201ccosts in check and help our customers save money.\u201d<\/p>\n \u200bHe said the upgrades reduced Duke\u2019s need to purchase power, which saved the company an additional $70 million. The publicly-traded utility invested about $161 million in the four projects, but \u201cmore than doubled that in fuel savings for our customers in just one year.\u201d<\/p>\n \u200b\u201cThe return on investment is pretty remarkable,\u201d Drango said. \u201cAnd we\u2019re not done yet. I think it\u2019s safe to say that ($340 million) total will be considerably higher by the time we finish work at the remaining plants, which we expect to do by early 2027.\u201d<\/p>\n \u200bNatural gas is an on-demand energy source that can be \u201cramped up within minutes, no matter the time of day or weather conditions,\u201d Drango explained. Burning it produces fewer conventional air pollutants than oil or coal, but associated methane leaks significantly reduce environmental benefits<\/a>.<\/p>\n \u200bDrango said natural gas plants provide power \u201cquickly and predictably, which is helpful when energy demand is high.\u201d The upgrades have reduced Duke\u2019s annual carbon footprint by 325,000 tons.<\/p>\n \u200bAdding hundreds of megawatts without burning additional fuel is \u201creally important\u201d during the hottest and coldest days of the year, Drango said. \u201cAnd when we don\u2019t need that power for our own system, we\u2019re actually able to share it with neighboring utilities.\u201d<\/p>\n \u200bHe noted that the consistency of natural gas also supports the integration<\/a> of more intermittent renewable energy. For example, solar sites only reach full capacity on sunny days.<\/p>\n \u200bDrango said natural gas plants can \u201ckick in\u201d to help balance demand on the grid at night or during inclement weather. \u201cBasically, when our natural gas plants are operating efficiently and effectively \u2013 like they are \u2013 we can confidently build more solar energy sites.\u201d<\/p>\n