The population of the Tampa Bay area of Florida is one of the fastest growing in the United States, and Tampa Electric is working to keep pace with increasing customer needs for power across its west-central Florida service area.
One example is the Polk Power Station combined cycle conversion near Mulberry, Florida. Tampa Electric is expanding the station by converting four existing simple cycle combustion turbine units into a modern and more efficient 4-on-1 combined cycle unit. The added electricity is enough to power more than 100,000 homes and businesses.
Contributing to Sustainability
Black & Veatch provided conceptual design, design engineering, procurement support, construction management and startup/commissioning services for the conversion that adds approximately 450 megawatts (MW) of more cost-effective generating capacity while increasing the efficiency of the existing units by 37 percent.
Reclaimed water from a nearby municipal water treatment plant also is treated and used to provide the needed water for the power plant, contributing to its sustainability goals. The combined cycle project involves adding heat recovery steam generators (HRSGs) on each combustion turbine to capture the waste heat and convert it to steam, which powers a new steam turbine generator and adds to the features of the plant.
The combined cycle power plant was also designed for the future integration of heat input from solar collectors to support renewable energy integration.
“Black & Veatch has been a partner on this project from the very beginning, working with us through the regulatory and permitting processes along with the conceptual design and estimating. They really helped us achieve our vision.”
Kris Stryker, Senior Project Manager, Tampa Electric
The technology applied to the units improved air quality by reducing nitrogen oxide emissions more than 75 percent per MWh generated.
