HONOLULU - In recognition of its success in executing a strategy to become a clean energy provider harnessing primarily clean and renewable fuels while also boosting shareholder value, FPL Group, Inc. today was named the 2003 winner of the Edison Award, the electric power industry's highest honor.
The prestigious prize is given annually by the Edison Electric Institute (EEI) to the U.S. shareholder-owned member and international member making the most outstanding contributions to the advancement of the industry. A committee of national industry trade publication editors and a panel of past and current EEI chairmen select the finalists and ultimate winners. This year's award, the 44th, was given to FPL Group during EEI's annual convention, "Charting the Future Course," in Honolulu.
"FPL Group's winning strategy clearly demonstrates that environmental excellence and outstanding financial performance can go hand in hand," said EEI President Thomas R. Kuhn. "FPL Group's success is emblematic of the ingenuity and vision that are the hallmarks of our industry. Its leadership and boldness, and the ability to see what lies ahead in a constantly changing industry, are what set them apart."
"Our 11,000 employees have worked tirelessly to build a sustainable future in which clean energy, environmental excellence, customer satisfaction and increasing shareholder value are hallmarks of our culture," said Lew Hay, FPL Group chairman and CEO. "To be recognized for our successful efforts by the Edison Electric Institute, a leading voice in the electric power industry, is very gratifying."
Juno Beach, Fla.-based FPL Group - through its investor-owned utility, Florida Power & Light Company, and its independent power producer subsidiary, FPL Energy - operates in more than 20 states and has more than 25,000 megawatts of capacity. For more than 10 years, a key element of the company's strategy has been to achieve a position as a clean energy provider committed to environmental excellence.
The result is a solid portfolio of power plants with a diverse fuel mix, the majority of which use clean and renewable fuels to make electricity. Forty-six percent of FPL Group's total capacity is powered by natural gas, the cleanest fossil fuel, while emissions-free nuclear energy comprises another 16 percent.
Significantly, FPL Group is the world leader in wind power, which accounts for 24 percent of FPL Energy's portfolio, and seven percent of total company capacity. In 2002, the company added 300 new megawatts of wind capacity, boosting its U.S. total to more than 1,700 MW. The company now operates 30 state-of-the-art wind farms in 10 states, with some of those sites also helping to educate school children and even generate interest for local tourism.
The company also operates nearly 30 hydroelectric power stations in Maine, as well as the world's largest solar-powered generating unit, in California. In the past decade, the company has built a record for reducing emissions of carbon dioxide, sulfur dioxide and nitrogen oxides that puts it near the top of its class.
FPL Group also has been a national leader in "repowering," or modifying existing fossil fueled power plants in a way that not only expands capacity but also significantly reduces air emissions. In the past decade, the company's repowered capacity of nearly 4,400 megawatts has become about one-fifth of the total published repowered U.S. capacity and is more than double that of any other utility company.
Edison Electric Institute (EEI) is the association of U.S. shareholder-owned electric utilities and industry affiliates and associates worldwide. Its domestic members generate roughly three-quarters of all the electricity generated by electric utilities in the country and serve about 70 percent of all ultimate customers in the nation.