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The energy created by the mirrors generates steam for turbines at an adjoining
natural gas plant, generating power whenever the sun is shining.
making steam to power the turbines. The 7,100 steel pylons
support 6,800 aluminum frames that hold the mirrors as they
follow the sun from east to west.
Lauren Engineers and Constructors from Abilene, Texas,
supervised the project, which provided 1,100 jobs over two
years. It was originally projected to cost $476 million, but
FPL now estimates the price tag to be $400 million. As solar
power’s popularity worldwide has grown over the past three
years, so has the volume of production, driving prices down.
FPL estimates the plant will avoid the emission of 2.75 million
tons of greenhouse gases that would have been produced
from fossil fuels over its estimated 30-year lifespan. According
to the Environmental Protection Agency, that is the same
as taking 18,700 vehicles off the road every year. Electricity
for 11,000 homes will be added to the power grid now in use
by the existing oil and natural gas plants on the site.
“It’s definitely an advantage to be right up against the existing
infrastructure,” says Brostowicz. FPL’s DeSoto County
solar field is in a rural area and the Brevard County voltaic cell
solar project is under construction near Kennedy Space Center.
When complete, the Indiantown plant will employ just a
handful of people. FPL’s goal is to spray every mirror down
once a day using a truck to drive the 52 miles of aisles between
the rows of 30-foot-tall shiny glass.
At 75 megawatts, the Martin County plant is the largest
thermal solar field outside of California. Adjacent land could
be used for future expansion. When FPL’s three plants are
online, Florida will be the nation’s second-largest supplier of
utility-size solar power.
The Martin County operation, located on 500 acres, boasts the largest thermal
solar field outside California.