Sierra Club Applauds FPL's Formal Closure of Cedar Bay Coal Plant
Move Overshadowed by Bad Gas, Nuclear Plans
JACKSONVILLE, FL — Florida Power & Light Company (FPL) has announced plans to formally retire the Cedar Bay Generating Plant, a 250-megawatt coal-fired facility located in Jacksonville, on Dec. 31.
FPL bought the plant in 2015 and announced it would phase it out of service within this time frame.
Cedar Bay is among 246 coal plants retired or planned for retirement since the Beyond Coal campaign launched in 2010.
In response to FPL's announcement, Frank Jackalone, Sierra Club Florida chapter director, issued the following statement:
"With this closure, FPL is doing the right thing by removing a major threat to air and water quality in Duval County. We look forward to the day when every coal plant is retired and replaced with clean, renewable energy sources.
"And while we applaud Cedar Bay's formal closure, this positive move is overshadowed by FPL's major expansion of climate disrupting gas burning power plants in Florida and its investment in the massive Sabal Trail pipeline that threatens Florida's springs, rivers, and drinking water.
"FPL has a long way to go before it can be considered a good corporate citizen: its Turkey Point power plant is a dangerous fiasco, which has been leaking dangerous wastewater into Biscayne Bay; FPL has put a huge burden on its customers by making them pay for more than one billion dollars' worth of new, unnecessary and expanded power plants that burn fracked gas from as far away as Pennsylvania and Texas; and its attempt to shut down rooftop solar in Florida by sponsoring the Amendment One ballot measure, which was rejected by voters last month.
"It's shameful that in the Sunshine State, FPL's solar power investments comprise less than 1 percent of the utility's total generation. We will continue to push FPL to meet Florida's full potential by investing in a clean energy supply that includes more solar, energy storage, and energy efficiency—which are cheaper and safer for our natural resources and for our communities."