Juno Beach, Fla. – Florida Power & Light  Company announced today that it has received approval from the Florida  Public Service Commission to modernize its Riviera Beach and Cape  Canaveral power plants and to build a third unit at the West County  Energy Center (WCEC). 
“These projects move us forward in our  mission of providing our customers with affordable, reliable energy  solutions that are cleaner and more efficient,” said FPL President and  CEO Armando J. Olivera. 
Together, the three projects will  deliver significant economic benefits. The addition of a third West  County unit in 2011 and modernizations of the Cape Canaveral and Riviera  plants in 2013 and 2014 will save FPL customers $1.2 billion over the  life of the projects. The projects will also deliver significant  environmental benefits. For example, in the first year that each of the  new projects is online, the combined systemwide CO2 reductions will be  the equivalent of taking 497,000 cars off the road, according to U.S.  Environmental Protection Agency data. 
The new Cape Canaveral and  Riviera Beach Next Generation Clean Energy Centers will be considerably  more efficient than the existing facilities, using at least 33 percent  less fuel to produce the same amount of power. In addition, the  modernized units will improve Florida’s energy security by reducing  FPL’s use of imported fuel oil by 1.5 million barrels per year.
The Next Generation Clean Energy Centers will also  contribute to improved air quality by reducing the rate of particulate  emissions by at least 95 percent and the rate of carbon dioxide  emissions by 50 percent under normal operating conditions. FPL will also  make a number of environmental improvements at each site. For example,  the office buildings will feature rooftop solar panels to help power the  facilities, and the buildings themselves will be certified as  environmentally sustainable under the U.S. Green Building Council’s  Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) rating system. At  Riviera Beach, FPL will provide for a permanent manatee viewing area to  foster continued support for this endangered species. 
At the  WCEC in Palm Beach County, FPL will be adding a third combined-cycle  natural gas unit. The new unit will be the cleanest of its type in  Florida and one of the cleanest in the nation. 
The next step in  the approval process for the plant modernizations is the filing of site  certification applications with the Florida Department of Environmental  Protection, which is anticipated to take place by January 2009. The next  step in the approval process for the new  WCEC unit is a site  certification hearing in October. Under the Florida Power Plant Siting  Act, the governor and Cabinet must ultimately provide approval before  the projects can be built. 
More information on the three projects is available online at www.FPL.com/RBeach, www.FPL.com/Cape and www.FPL.com/Westcounty.
Florida  Power & Light Company is a subsidiary of FPL Group, Inc.  (NYSE:FPL), nationally known as a high quality, efficient and  customer-driven organization focused on energy-related products and  services. With annual revenues of over $15 billion and a growing  presence in 27 states, FPL Group is widely recognized as one of the  country's premier power companies. Florida Power & Light Company  serves 4.5 million customer accounts in Florida. FPL Energy, LLC, FPL  Group's competitive energy subsidiary, is a leader in producing  electricity from clean and renewable fuels. Additional information is  available on the Internet at www.FPL.com, www.FPLGroup.com and www.FPLEnergy.com.