Florida-based JEA signed a 20-year power purchase agreement for the output from the new reactors at Plant Vogtle in Georgia.
The PPA will give JEA 10 percent of its generation portfolio from nuclear energy, according to the Daily Record. The contract begins when the reactors are completed around 2017. The article said JEA also has an option with Duke Energy (NYSE: DUK) to purchase part of a nuclear plant currently in the licensing and permitting phase that would increase JEA’s share of nuclear to 20 percent.
Under the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s proposed Clean Power Plan, Florida is required to reduce its greenhouse gas emissions by 38 percent by 2030.In 2013, JEA’s generated 65 percent of its electricity from coal, the article said. The co-op also plans to make its existing coal fleet more efficient to help meet the state requirement.