by Max Marbut
Staff Writer
In order to meet the needs of a growing community, a public utility has to plan years ahead in order to meet future demand. That’s what JEA is doing by building the Greenland Energy Center off Philips Highway south of the Avenues Mall and north of Bayard.
Based on the projected population increase in the Southside and Mandarin areas plus the level of construction and development occurring in the region, JEA’s new facility will be built around a pair of 175-megawatt natural gas-fired combustion turbines.
“We are projecting growth south of the St. Johns River to be twice as much as the other fastest-growing areas in the county and four times greater than most areas,” said Jay Worley, JEA director of environmental projects and environmental services, renewables and clean power.
He added that in addition to simple population growth, the trend is for people to live in larger homes than in years past and with more kilowatt-hungry home electronics than ever before.
The average plasma television consumes 350 watts of electricity. A PlayStation 3 will spin the electric meter at the rate of 197 watts in addition to the electricity used by the monitor. The average home computer requires 78 watts of electricity and add about 7 watts for a wireless router. Even when not being used, some large-screen television use 10 watts of electricity in standby mode, or almost enough power to light a 60-watt-equivalent compact fluorescent light bulb.
Worley said in addition to projected growth in the area, the site was chosen because JEA currently has no generating stations east of the St. Johns River. All transmission of electricity to the region crosses the river, and a major hurricane or other catastrophic event could make it impossible to deliver power to homes and businesses in the southeast quadrant of the county.
Another benefit to this specific plant is that natural gas-fired combustion turbines reportedly create lower levels of emissions than any other fossil fuel.
“Using natural gas is far cleaner than any system using coal,” said Worley, who added if the natural gas supply is interrupted, the turbines can switch over to low-sulfur diesel fuel.
“Based on current and projected demand, we will be dependent on fossil fuels for some time to come so we must use the cleanest technology available,” added Worley.
The initial installation will include the two turbines, while future expansion of the facility will involve installing additional machinery to reclaim heat from the turbines. That will generate 35 percent more electricity than with the turbines alone to accommodate expected growth in the area’s consumption beyond 2010.
The site was also chosen for maximum efficiency, said Worley. It is located adjacent to existing power distribution lines, and construction of the facility will have minimum impact on the wetlands surrounding the site. JEA’s reclaimed water is also available for the plant’s process water needs, and since the location is within an existing commercial corridor, there will be minimal impact on traffic and the surrounding community, he added.
JEA paid $24.2 million for the site and will invest an additional $430 million in construction and equipment costs for the project.
JEA power at a glance
• 412,294 customers
• 900 square miles of service area
• 730 miles of transmission
• 6,000 miles of distribution
Electrical generation facilities
• St. Johns River Power Park (pulverized coal)
• Northside generating station (circulating fluidized bed, oil/gas-fired units)
• Plant Scherer (pulverized coal)
• Brandy Branch (combustion turbines, combined cycle unit)
• Kennedy (combustion turbines)
Power sources
• Gas/oil – 12 percent
• Solid fuel – 84 percent
• Other – 4 percent