Date: Monday, December 10, 2012
Time: 7:30 AM – 1:30 PM (check-in at 7:00 AM at the Shuttle Bays outside South Halls)
Fee: $75 (Approx. 1 ½ -hour bus ride each way; transportation, beverages and box lunch included)
Space is limited. Registration cut-off date: November 30, 2012

Location
Polk Power Station occupies 4,300 acres on State Road 37 in Polk County, Florida. It is about 60 miles southwest of Orlando.

Description
A state-of-the-art integrated coal gasification combined-cycle (IGCC) power plant, Tampa Electric’s Polk Power Station produces enough electricity to serve 75,000 homes. The 260 MW IGCC facility began commercial operation in the fall of 1996. Construction on Polk Unit Two began in 1998 and Unit Three in 1999. These two 180 MW simple cycle combustion turbines use natural gas and distillate oil to generate electricity. Unit Two and Unit Three started commercial operation in July 2000 and May 2002 respectively. Polk Units four and five, two 160 MW units were completed in April 2007. The two new simple-cycle peaking units use natural gas to generate electricity.

Technology
The 260 MW IGCC facility is a first-of-its-kind combination of two leading technologies, coal gasification and combined-cycle. The plant combines coal with oxygen in the gasifier to produce the gaseous fuel. After processing, the clean coal gas is used in the combustion turbine to produce electricity. Combined-cycle technology increases efficiency because it reuses exhaust heat to produce more electricity.

Combined-cycle design consists of a combustion turbine, a heat recovery steam generator and a steam turbine. The exhaust heat from the combustion turbine is recovered in the heat recovery steam generator to produce steam. This steam then passes through a steam turbine to produce more electricity.

The plant is considered “zero process water discharge.” A brine concentration unit, which produces an effluent that is reused in the process, handles all of the liquid waste. The combined-cycle technology requires much less cooling water than conventional technology, and Tampa Electric was able to modify existing conventional “mine cuts” to become the plant’s cooling reservoir.

With a March 2009 agreement, Tampa Electric established an innovative public-private project with the City of Lakeland and the Southwest Florida Water Management District to supply Polk Power Station with up to five million gallons of treated reclaimed water daily that would otherwise be discharged into Tampa Bay via the Alafia River. The 30-year agreement will benefit the environment by reducing wastewater release.

REQUIREMENTS: All attendees must bring a photo ID with them. Appropriate clothing includes: long pants, closed-toed shoes, (sandals and sneakers not allowed); short-sleeved shirts are OK. Backpacks or bags may be subject to search and may be left on the bus during the tour. Photography is not allowed (includes cameras, cell phones and smart phones)

Date: Monday, December 10, 2012
Time: 8:30 AM – 12:00 PM (check-in at 8:00 AM at the Shuttle Bays outside South Hall)
Fee: $65 (Approx. 30-minute bus ride each way; transportation included)
Space is limited.

Located on one hundred seventy acres, surrounded by nearly one thousand acres of protected wetland, Cane Island is in a partnership with the environment. Burning clean natural gas as the primary fuel, the Power Plant is capable of producing 710 megawatts of electricity. The Cane Island Power Park is a mixture of modern gas and steam turbine technology. Unit 1 is a General Electric LM6000 PA aero-derivative simple cycle combustion turbine that is primarily used for peaking. Unit 2 is a GE Frame MS7001EA in combined cycle with a Nooter Erikson triple pressure HRSG that provides steam for a GE Fitchburg axial exhaust straight condensing turbine. Unit 3 is a GE 7241FA+e in combined cycle with a Aalborg triple pressure reheat HRSG that provides steam for a GE A10 reheat steam turbine. Unit 3 was the first combined cycle in Florida to install a SCR. Unit 4 consists of a GE 7241FA+e in combined cycle with a Vogt triple pressure HRSG that provides steam for a GE A14 reheat steam turbine. Including duct firing capability, this unit will produce 300 megawatts.

Attendees should plan to wear comfortable clothes and shoes, but no open toe shoes. Backpacks and photography are allowed.

Date: Monday, December 10, 2012
Time(s):
9:00 – 10:00 AM (check-in at 8:30 AM adjacent Registration)
- or -
9:30 – 10:30 AM (check-in at 9:00 AM adjacent Registration)

Fee: $15 - Space is limited

Your chance to view the largest rooftop solar array in the southeast! The roof of North-South Building of the Orange Country Convention Center is home to a 1.1 MW photovoltaic array that was designed and installed by Johnson Controls. Costing more than US $8 million dollars and several years to construct, funding partners included the State of Florida and the local utility. The project went online in February 2010. In addition, the convention center houses a Climate Change Education Center (CCEC), where the tour will begin. Attendees will then take the freight elevators to the HVAC Penthouse level, where they view and learn about the inverters and other components necessary to run the solar array. Finally, they will step out onto the roof to take in the full array and ask questions about the project. The tour will conclude back at the CCEC.

PLEASE NOTE: High heels are not allowed on the roof. Please wear soft soled shoes