JUNO BEACH, Fla. -- FPL Energy, LLC, a subsidiary of FPL Group (NYSE: FPL) said today that it added more than 800 megawatts of wind projects to its portfolio in 2006 bringing its total installed capacity to 4,016 net megawatts.
FPL Energy, through its subsidiaries, invested more than $1 billion in 2006 on new wind projects in Texas, Minnesota and North Dakota and purchased existing wind assets in Texas, Minnesota and California that it operated but did not previously own. In total, FPL Energy’s 2006 wind program included adding 777 megawatts of new wind projects (18 megawatts of the total were from a 2005 project that did not get commissioned until 2006) and the acquisition of approximately 47 megawatts of existing assets.
In all, FPL Energy owned wind projects generated more than 9.4 million megawatt hours of electricity in 2006. To produce the same amount of electricity using coal as generated by FPL Energy’s wind farms, you would need approximately 45,000 rail cars of coal.
In addition to generating electric energy, FPL Energy’s wind farms are also generating tremendous environmental and economic benefits. In 2006, FPL Energy’s wind farms offset fossil fueled power generation emissions totaling nearly 6.4 million tons of carbon dioxide; more than 14,000 tons of sulfur dioxide and more than 9,100 tons of nitrogen oxide that would have otherwise been released into the atmosphere if not for the wind farms.
“FPL Energy leads the way with the development and operation of clean, emission-free, renewable wind energy,” said Mitch Davidson, president of FPL Energy. “Wind is a clean, renewable source of energy that emits no pollutants into the air or water, has a minimal impact on the land and contributes to the economic well-being of communities all across the U.S.”
Although a wind farm may be built across many acres, the wind towers and access roads use very little acreage, leaving the land surrounding the wind towers available for other uses by the landowners. Most of the land leased for its wind farms is used for farming, livestock grazing or hunting. All of these activities continue on the land leased to FPL Energy affiliates by landowners.
In addition to the environmental benefits, the FPL Energy wind farms continue to have a significant direct and indirect economic impact. In 2006, FPL Energy’s 49 wind projects in 15 states provided tens of millions of dollars in the form of state and local tax payments, salaries, lease payments and locally purchased goods and services.
FPL Energy is a leading competitive energy supplier utilizing clean fuels such as natural gas, wind, solar, hydroelectric and nuclear to generate electricity. It is the world’s leader in wind energy, with 49 wind facilities in operation in 15 states. It is a subsidiary of FPL Group, (NYSE: FPL) one of the nation's largest providers of electricity-related services with annual revenues of nearly $16 billion. FPL Group's principal subsidiary is Florida Power & Light Company, one of the nation's largest electric utilities, serving 4.4 million customer accounts in Florida. Additional information is available at www.FPLEnergy.com, www.FPLGroup.comand www.FPL.com.