Subject:
Title
Ratification of the County Administrator’s approval of the Agreement and Memorandum of Understanding with Duke Energy Florida for purchase of as available energy and/or parallel operation with a qualifying facility.
label
Recommended Action:
Recommended Action
Ratify, confirm, and enter into the minutes the approval by the County Administrator of both the Agreement and Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with Duke Energy Florida (DEF) for purchase of as available energy and/or parallel operation with a qualifying facility.
• Approved Agreement was part of Legistar item 24-1010D.
• Execution of both the Agreement and MOU are necessary before the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) considers and approves.
• FERC approval is necessary before DEF approves an interconnection agreement for power generated by the Waste-To-Energy Facility to be connected to the DEF distribution power grid.
• Expedited document approval is necessary to provide the FERC the required 60 days to review and approve. FERC approval is necessary on or before December 31, 2024.
• In the interest of time, the County Administrator was requested to execute both documents with the understanding subsequent Board consideration and ratification was required.
• Also, in the interest of time, the County executed the documents first and DEF second.
• Revenue generated by the sale of electricity produced by the Waste-to-Energy Facility is budgeted to the Solid Waste Revenue and Operating Fund in the amount of $33,245,170.00.
Body
Strategic Plan:
Practice Superior Environmental Stewardship
3.3 Protect and improve the quality of our water, air, and other natural resources.
3.4 Reduce/reuse/recycle resources, including energy, water, and solid waste.
Summary:
Ratify, confirm, and enter into the minutes the approval by the County Administrator of both the Agreement and Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with Duke Energy Florida (DEF) for purchase of as-available energy and/or parallel operation with a qualifying facility.
Background/Explanation:
The Solid Waste WTE Facility generates approximately 75MW of power when operating at 100% efficiency. Since 1984, the County and DEF have co-terminus Interconnectivity and Power Purchase Agreements permitting the WTE Facility generated power to be sold to DEF. Both agreements expire on December 31, 2024.
The Pinellas County WTE Facility is a FERC designated ‘Qualified Facility (QF)’, which permits the sale of power to any energy utility. The current DEF PPA standard offer agreement is not economically attractive. Therefore, the decision has been made to sell generated power using an real-time energy broker to energy utilities demanding power. To do so requires an interconnectivity agreement with DEF to connect generated power to the electrical power grid. If the County desires to enter into a PPA with DEF at later date, the interconnectivity agreement would be necessary.
Before an interconnectivity agreement can be executed, FERC requires both the Agreement and Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with Duke Energy Florida (DEF) for purchase of as-available energy and/or parallel operation with a qualifying facility to be executed by both parties. By law, FERC has 60-days to consider and approve the agreements.
To provide time for the FERC 60-day review and the final interconnectivity agreement on or before December 31, 2024, an expedited review and execution by the County Administrator was recommended with the understanding both the agreement and MOU would be later brought to the Board for consideration and ratification. If the December 31, 2024, deadline is missed, no power will be generated by the WTE Facility. Trash would be incinerated, and the process steam vented to the atmosphere.
Fiscal Impact:
Revenue generated by the sale of electricity produced by the Waste-to-Energy Facility is budgeted to the Solid Waste Revenue and Operating Fund in the amount of $33,245,170.00.
As-available energy will be provided to Duke Energy and to other parties.
Rates for as-available energy to be paid by Duke are determined by a unit commitment computer program that calculates the hourly avoided energy costs. The rates will be variable. An alternative rate may be negotiated at a later time in a separate agreement.
Staff Member Responsible:
Paul Sacco, Director, Solid Waste
Partners:
Duke Energy Florida
Attachments:
Agreement for purchase of as-available energy and/or parallel operation with a qualifying facility
MOU for purchase of as-available energy with a qualifying facility