MIAMI, Fla. – Florida Power & Light Company (FPL) today unveiled one of the largest reclaimed water projects in the state in partnership with Miami-Dade County. The FPL Miami-Dade Clean Water Recovery Center (CWRC) will treat and reuse up to 15 million gallons per day of reclaimed county water to cool the natural gas plant at FPL’s Turkey Point Clean Energy Center. This provides a cost-effective way to reuse and recycle treated wastewater while supporting power plant operations.

“We are incredibly proud to celebrate the commissioning of the FPL Miami-Dade Clean Water Recovery Center in partnership with Miami-Dade County," said Armando Pimentel, FPL president and CEO, who was joined by Miami-Dade County leaders Wednesday. "This first-of-its-kind facility represents a major milestone in our shared commitment to environmental stewardship and innovation. By treating and reusing up to 15 million gallons of reclaimed water each day, we are enhancing the resiliency of our system and providing a sustainable solution that benefits our customers, the local community and the entire state of Florida.”

“Miami-Dade County is excited to enter into this collaborative partnership with FPL that will help us find innovative solutions and maximize efficient use of our resources to benefit our community and our environment,” said Miami-Dade County Mayor Daniella Levine Cava. “We know that water is life, and this partnership seeks to give new life to water that would have been discarded. The project will benefit our rate payers and our entire community for decades to come.”

The project will create the following benefits for FPL customers, Miami-Dade County and Florida:

• Increased resiliency at the Turkey Point Clean Energy Center, which helps provide power to all FPL customers across the state.
• Help Miami-Dade County meet reuse requirements under Florida’s Ocean Outfall Legislation.
• Provide a cost-effective way to reuse and recycle treated wastewater that would otherwise be discarded.
• Conserve Floridan Aquifer groundwater at the Turkey Point site – a precious resource for all Floridians.

How it works

The clean water recovery process begins when reclaimed water travels through an 8.5-mile pipeline into the Biological Nutrient Removal (BNR) basin at the CWRC. Different treatment zones within the BNR basin remove ammonia and condition solids, which are then clarified. During clarification, phosphorus is removed before the water is chlorinated and stored in two 500,000-gallon tanks. The treated water is ultimately used to supply cooling towers, reducing the need for Floridan aquifer groundwater.

FPL and Miami-Dade County are building a cleaner future

FPL and Miami-Dade County have partnered on clean energy projects since 2018, including the Miami-Dade Solar Energy Center, dozens of innovative solar arrays, numerous battery storage projects, shore power for PortMiami, a microgrid at Florida International University (FIU) and a growing electric vehicle charging network. The CWRC is the next step in this long-standing partnership.

Currently, FPL generates more than 3,300 MW of electricity in Miami-Dade County, the equivalent of powering 700,000 homes and businesses, from a mix of energy sources like solar, nuclear and American-produced natural gas.

Check out the FPL Miami-Dade Clean Water Recovery Center fact sheet to learn more.

About Florida Power & Light Company 

As America's largest electric utility, Florida Power & Light Company serves more customers and sells more power than any other utility, providing clean, affordable, reliable electricity to more than 6 million accounts, or approximately 12 million people. FPL operates one of the most fuel efficient and cleanest power generation fleets in the U.S and in 2022 won the ReliabilityOne® National Reliability Award for the seventh time in the last ten years. The company was also recognized by Escalent in 2022 as one of the most trusted U.S. electric utilities for the ninth consecutive year. FPL is a subsidiary of Juno Beach, Florida-based NextEra Energy, Inc. (NYSE: NEE), a clean energy company widely recognized for its efforts in sustainability, corporate responsibility, ethics and compliance, and diversity. NextEra Energy is also the parent company of NextEra Energy Resources, LLC, which, together with its affiliated entities, is the world's largest generator of renewable energy from the wind and sun and a world leader in battery storage. For more information about NextEra Energy companies, visit these websites: www.NextEraEnergy.com, www.FPL.com, www.NextEraEnergyResources.com.