Tampa Electric meets several sustainability milestones

Tampa Electric has met several sustainability milestones, including generating enough solar energy to power 100,000 homes.

The company also plans to retire Big Bend Unit 3 in 2023, nearly two decades early. Big Bend began operating as a coal unit in 1976, and natural gas was added as a secondary fuel several years ago. The early retirement to save customers money as operating it after 2023 would have required additional capital-intensive improvements.

Big Bend Unit 2 will retire in November 2021 as part of the $850 million Big Bend Modernization project. When complete in 2023, the project will have combined-cycle natural gas units capable of producing 1,090 megawatts of electricity.

“These significant milestones are improving the land, water, and air for all Tampa Electric customers,” said Nancy Tower, president and chief executive officer of Tampa Electric. “We are saving our customers money while becoming cleaner and greener in measurable ways.”

Tamps opened the 60-megawatt (MW) Durrance Solar project in Polk County on Jan. 1. It was the company’s 10th utility-scale photovoltaic solar project, making Tampa Electric the Florida utility with the most solar power per customer.

Tampa Electric has already begun construction on the next wave of 600 MW of solar, with four projects totaling 225 MW scheduled to be complete by the end of 2021. When complete, Tampa Electric will have enough solar energy to power 200,000 homes.

Tampa Electric has also saved 2 billion gallons of water that had previously irrigated agriculture or mining operations, which were the land’s previous occupants. These efforts are all part of the company’s strategy to reduce its carbon footprint.

Tampa Electric serves about 780,000 customers in West Central Florida.