TECO seeks to build Florida IGCC plant, issues RFP

NEW YORK Jan 25 (Reuters) - TECO Energy Inc.'s (TE.N) Tampa Electric subsidiary proposed to build a clean coal power plant in Florida to help meet growing customer demand, the company said in a release Thursday.

In addition, the utility said it would seek proposals from others to build a "solid fuel-fired" 600-megawatt baseload plant starting Feb. 7.

In Florida, the state Public Service Commission requires utilities to identify the lowest-cost option to supply power to customers, including a self-build option or power purchased from others.

In its 10-year plan currently on file with the PSC, Tampa Electric proposed to build a 630-megawatt Integrated Gasification Combined Cycle (IGCC) coal-fueled facility that would enter service in 2013 on the site of the existing Polk IGCC station.

Polk is a 250 MW bituminous coal-fueled plant in Polk County, Florida, which entered service in 1996.

IGCC technology, which is a variation of a natural gas-fired combined cycle plant, uses coal derived gas in a gas turbine to generate electricity and then uses the hot gas leaving the turbine to heat water to produce steam to power a steam turbine and generate more electricity.

IGCC technology would allow the operator to separate out the currently regulated pollutants of nitrogen oxide, sulfur dioxide and mercury from the coal gas before burning it. In the future, the technology may also allow for the capture of carbon dioxide, a greenhouse gas.

Baseload plants, which are usually nuclear or coal-fired, generate electricity around the clock, while load following or peaking plants, which are usually natural gas-fired, usually generate power during the peak daylight hours during the week.

The company expects to announce a short list of proposals in June 2007.

Tampa Electric, the principal subsidiary of TECO Energy, of Tampa, Florida, owns and operates more than 4,000 MW of generating capacity, markets energy commodities, and transmits and distributes electricity and natural gas to about 645,000 customers in west central Florida.