Large Firms Behind Power Plant Proposal
BROOKSVILLE –
The energy investment firm proposing a gas-fired power plant on mining land north of Brooksville apparently has some heavy-duty financial backing.
A spokeswoman for JP Morgan Chase, a global financial services firm, shed some light Friday on the hierarchy of companies behind the plan for a 1,200-megawatt, natural gas-fired power plant on Florida Crushed Stone property between the Suncoast Parkway and U.S. 98.
Florida Power Development LLC is the corporation proposing the plant project that is dubbed SunCoast Power, said Tasha Pelio, a New York based spokeswoman for JP Morgan.
Florida Power Development is a subsidiary of Central Power Holdings, owned by Arroyo Energy Investors based in Houston, Texas.
Arroyo had been owned by Bear Stearns, one of the largest global investment banks and securities trading and brokerage firms before its collapse earlier this year. JP Morgan acquired the firm in May.
Arroyo has interests in natural gas and electric power generation facilities throughout the country and in Florida, including plants in Polk and Orange counties that sell power to Progress Energy and Tampa Electric Company, according to the company’s Web site.
Pelio said the Brooksville plant proposal is still in the early stages and declined to comment further. Florida Crushed Stone officials have not returned calls.
The plant infrastructure would be built on 75 acres of reclaimed mine land on Florida Crushed Stone’s 580-acre property, according to an overview of the project provided to the county planning department. It’s unclear whether the Florida Power Development would lease or purchase the land.
The plant would take three years to build, cost an estimated $1.3 billion, and would employ about 40 full-time employees.
The plan is a response to Progress Energy’s request for proposals for projects to help meet the region’s burgeoning energy needs. The facility needs to produce a minimum of 1,159-megawatts and the power needs to be available for commercial delivery by June 1, 2013.
The overview noted the plant would be supplied with natural gas through a new line built on Florida Crushed Stone property to tap into an existing line to the west.
The project does not require a change to the county’s comprehensive land use map, but the county commission would have to OK the site plan.
The project “needs the blessing of Hernando County to remain competitive in Progress Energy’s selection process,” the overview states.
The plant would be built in Commissioner Diane Rowden’s district. Rowden hadn’t seen the proposal by Friday.
“If it would help lower our power bills, that would be nice, wouldn’t it,” she said.
Reporter Tony Marrero can be reached at 352-544-5286 or [email protected].
