An FPL spokeswoman tells GlobeSt.com that the company held an option on the property and just closed on a 170-acre portion. It expects to close on the remaining 50 acres by the end of this year. The seller is Palm Beach Aggregates. She declined to disclose the price.

The expanded capacity is needed, she says, because Palm Beach County's population has increased 30% in the past decade. FPL is adding about 15,000 new customer accounts a year in this county alone along with increased populations in neighboring Martin and St. Lucie counties. After projecting its need for additional capacity, FPL created a self-build option for meeting that demand and also solicited RFPs for options from other power providers.

Three other companies--Progress Energy Florida, Progress Energy Ventures and Southern Power Co.--submitted proposals. "Following a comprehensive economic evaluation, the self-build option emerged as the most cost-effective," the spokeswoman says.

This quarter, FPL is filing a determination-of-need petition with the Florida Public Service Commission. FPSC's decision is expected by mid-year. If approval is granted, the plan proceeds through several environmental approvals followed by a review before Gov. Jeb Bush and the Florida Cabinet Siting Board.

The initial plan calls for two natural gas-fired power plant units of approximately 1,200 megawatts each. The first is expected to reach completion by 2009, followed by the second in June 2010. FPL would build, own and operate the center.

A second RFP will be solicited later this year for additional power-generation demand projected for between the years 2012 and 2014, utilizing a coal-fired plant in keeping with FPL's goal of fuel diversity. The company's self-build option is for a coal plant at the West County site, and only bidders of coal-project options will be invited to submit RFPs.

FPL has a coal plant in Jacksonville and co-owns another in Georgia. The Juno Beach-based company serves 3.4 million customer accounts in Florida and is the primary subsidiary of the publicly traded FPL Group Inc., also based in Juno Beach, which has annual revenues of more than $10 billion and operates in 26 states.