Currently the proposal includes up to six turbines built solely on FPL’s land adjacent to the St. Lucie nuclear plant.

The proposal for six wind turbines would produce clean energy for FPL customers at a reasonable cost. Over the life of the project, FPL expects the additional cost of the energy produced to be 3 cents per month for the average customer. Wind is also the most economical form of renewable energy in St. Lucie County. The St. Lucie project will deliver nearly 22 million kilowatt hours of electricity annually from a $45 million investment. A six-turbine wind farm today can produce as much electricity as a 138-turbine wind farm could 20 years ago. The federal tax credit for wind projects only applies if the turbines are actually producing energy, and 100 percent of the benefit goes to FPL’s customers. Congress created the tax credit to promote clean, renewable wind energy and make it more competitive with coal and other forms of fossil fuel power generation.

Nuclear safety is of paramount importance to FPL. As such, FPL simply will not construct any turbine that poses a risk to our nuclear plant.

Wind turbines are safer for birds than buildings, cars, cats and other accepted parts of our lives. For every 10,000 bird deaths in the U.S. caused by human activity, less than one is caused by a wind turbine. As always, FPL is committed to working with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC) to ensure the wind turbines are as safe as possible.

No. Results from the sound level testing recently performed in St. Lucie County showed that the existing sound levels (ambient noise) are louder than the predicted sound levels of the wind turbines, and in some cases, the noise from waves and wind is much louder than the turbines. As a practical matter, when people stand underneath or near the wind turbine, they are able to carry on conversations in a normal voice. Wind turbines have moving parts, but the sound they make is virtually undetectable from even a small distance and is usually at its loudest at slower wind speeds.

No, that is not true. Along some parts of the Florida coast and using the latest wind technology, there is sufficient wind to produce electricity. For example, the winds along the coast of Hutchinson Island blow at a yearly average of close to 14 miles per hour at the 80 meter hub height, making them a sufficient source of wind energy.

As of today, there are no offshore wind projects built in the United States. FPL is working with several wind turbine manufacturers to solve the difficult and expensive challenges of building in the ocean and maintaining the wind turbines, but those efforts are not yet ready to be commercialized.

FPL Group has more than 5,000 megawatts of wind capacity installed nationwide, or enough to power approximately 1.3 million homes. Wind is the fastest-growing source of electric power in the country.

Commercial solar power has not seen the technological advances that wind has over the past 20 years. Solar can be viable in Florida, but to make meaningful progress toward Governor Crists’s goal of reducing carbon emissions, additional wind projects will be needed.

In winds of 52 mph or greater, these turbines automatically shut down. Turbines are built to withstand high winds. FPL Energy’s turbines from Texas through the Dakotas are in areas prone to tornados, and there have been no safety issues to date. Detailed engineering studies and extreme wind modeling have also shown that even during a catastrophic, Category 5+ storm with wind gusts of over 360 mph, no part of the wind turbine that might separate would travel more than 2,500 feet and would therefore not impact any existing structures on or off of the island.

FPL Energy is the largest producer of wind in the United States and the second largest in the world, operating more than 7,000 wind turbines nationwide. FPL will draw from this expertise for wind projects in Florida.

The total height including the foundation, tower, turbine and blades will be 410 to 415 feet tall.

They will generate up to 13.8 megawatts depending on the turbine, or enough to supply electricity to more than 3,600 people. Annually, they are expected to deliver nearly 22 million kilowatt hours of electricity.

With improvements in the efficiency of wind technology, a six-turbine wind farm today can produce as much electricity as a 138-turbine wind farm could 20 years ago. In addition, FPL is committed to doing its part to meet the Governor’s goals. Every kilowatt of energy produced from renewable sources is a kilowatt that doesn’t have to be produced by burning fossil fuels. Climate change is real and FPL is committed to doing its part.

Our plan is not to locate any turbine closer than one-half mile from an existing structure.

FPL will not construct any turbine that poses a risk to our nuclear plant. No turbine will be within 2,500 feet (close to one-half mile) from the plant.

There is no evidence to show a decline in property values from the siting of a wind farm. Numerous studies have been conducted by leading universities and the U.S. Department of Energy, all of which have concluded that the construction of a wind facility does not detract from property values. For more information, please click here.

No. Our point was that wind, which blows intermittently, would never be a substitute for traditional generation sources that run 24 hours a day, seven days a week. Moreover, wind technology has continued to evolve, which allows for more energy to be captured using lower wind speeds.

From Indian River Drive, the turbines to the top of the blade would appear slightly taller than the containment buildings at FPL’s St. Lucie nuclear plant. In some parts of the country wind turbines have become a tourist attraction. How individuals feel about the appearance of the turbines is subjective.

Wind has many economic benefits, from construction and maintenance to leases, land purchases and property taxes. FPL estimates that its $45 million investment in the St. Lucie wind project will generate an average $4.6 million in economic activity per year in the county. In addition, the project will produce up to 75 construction jobs and an estimated $3.5 million in additional property and sales tax revenue in its first year.

The only wind strong enough to allow the turbines to generate electricity is found on Florida’s coast. There is also the issue that birds tend to congregate at landfills. Florida agricultural land is located too far inland to receive the necessary wind. View the National Renewables Energy Lab US Map.

The wind turbine foundations, including the location and design, must be reviewed and approved by the State of Florida Department of Environmental Protection, Coastal Construction Control Line Program (CCCL). The primary purpose of the CCCL program is to safeguard the beach and dune system, as well as to prevent improperly sited and designed structures which can destabilize or destroy the beach and dune system. The CCCL program has a rigorous set of coastal construction regulations which FPL must satisfy in order to receive a permit from DEP prior to building any wind turbines. However, wind turbines do not cause beach erosion.

FPL will restore all impacted areas to their natural state after construction and provide mitigation to any areas that are permanently impacted. View the Joint Application for Environmental Resource Permit

No, there is no evidence or research that suggests that these wind turbines will disrupt nesting turtles or their offspring. The turbines will be located on the western side of the dune line, away from the beach and the sea turtles nesting areas. Since the turbines are proposed to be on land, there is no disruption to marine life.

Wind turbines use no fuel or water and produce no waste. If constructed, the project will prevent the release of approximately 17,000 tons of carbon dioxide annually. According to the Environmental Protection Agency, that’s the equivalent of removing nearly 2,600 cars from the road every year.