Cedar Bay Cogeneration Plant

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Cedar Bay Cogeneration Plant is a 292-megawatt (MW) coal-fired power station near Jacksonville, Florida.

The plant was retired in 2016.

Location

The undated satellite photo below shows the power station in Jacksonville, Florida.

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Retirement

In March 2015 plant owner Florida Power & Light Co. of NextEra Energy filed a petition with the Florida Public Service Commission for acquisition of Cedar Bay. The plant had been under a long-term contract to supply power to FP&L since 1998. FP&L is looking to buy the plant for $520.5 million. If successful, its plans are to reduce operations by 90 percent and eventually phase the plant out of service in the next two to three years. According to the company, the result should be an estimated $70 million saved for customers and the prevention of 1 million tons of carbon dioxide emissions annually; under the current setup, FP&L has to pay more than $120 million a year to the plant.[1]

In mid-December 2016 FPL said the plant would be closed on December 31, 2016.[2]

Plant Data

  • Owner: Florida Power & Light
  • Parent Company: NextEra Energy
  • Plant Nameplate Capacity: 292 MW (Megawatts)
  • Units and In-Service Dates: 292 MW (1994)
  • Location: 9640 Eastport Rd., Jacksonville, FL 32218
  • GPS Coordinates: 30.421417, -81.606972
  • Coal Consumption:
  • Coal Source:
  • Number of Employees:

Emissions Data

  • 2006 CO2 Emissions: 2,334,210 tons
  • 2006 SO2 Emissions:
  • 2006 SO2 Emissions per MWh:
  • 2006 NOx Emissions:
  • 2005 Mercury Emissions:

Death and disease attributable to fine particle pollution from the Cedar Bay Cogeneration Plant

In 2010, Abt Associates issued a study commissioned by the Clean Air Task Force, a nonprofit research and advocacy organization, quantifying the deaths and other health effects attributable to fine particle pollution from coal-fired power plants.[3] The study found that over 13,000 deaths and tens of thousands of cases of chronic bronchitis, acute bronchitis, asthma-related episodes and asthma-related emergency room visits, congestive heart failure, acute myocardial infarction, dysrhythmia, ischemic heart disease, chronic lung disease, peneumonia each year are attributable to fine particle pollution from U.S. coal-fired power plants. Fine particle pollution is formed from a combination of soot, acid droplets, and heavy metals formed from sulfur dioxide, nitrogen oxide, and soot. Among those particles, the most dangerous are the smallest (smaller than 2.5 microns), which are so tiny that they can evade the lung's natural defenses, enter the bloodstream, and be transported to vital organs. Impacts are especially severe among the elderly, children, and those with respiratory disease. Low-income and minority populations are disproportionately impacted as well, due to the tendency of companies to avoid locating power plants upwind of affluent communities.

The table below estimates the death and illness attributable to the Cedar Bay Cogeneration Plant. Abt assigned a value of $7,300,000 to each 2010 mortality, based on a range of government and private studies. Valuations of illnesses ranged from $52 for an asthma episode to $440,000 for a case of chronic bronchitis.[4]

Table 1: Death and disease attributable to fine particle pollution from the Cedar Bay Cogeneration Plant

Type of Impact Annual Incidence Valuation
Deaths 4 $29,000,000
Heart attacks 5 $590,000
Asthma attacks 64 $3,000
Hospital admissions 3 $66,000
Chronic bronchitis 2 $1,000,000
Asthma ER visits 4 $1,000

Source: "Find Your Risk from Power Plant Pollution," Clean Air Task Force interactive table, accessed February 2011

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