Florida Power Corporation Research Articles

Progress Energy, Inc.

AbstractElectricity (MIC: SIC: 4911 NAIC: 221121)Progress Energy is a utility holding company. Co.'s wholly owned regulated subsidiaries, Carolina Power & Light Company, and Florida Power Corporation, each a business segment, are primarily engaged in the generation, transmission, distribution and sale of electricity in portions of North Carolina, South Carolina and Florida. As of Dec 31 2007, Co. had more than 21,000 megawatts of regulated electric generation capacity, and served approximately 3.1 million retail electric customers as well as other load‐serving entities. Co.'s Corporate and Other segment primarily includes both the operations of Co. and its Progress Energy Service Company, LLC subsidiary.

Progress Energy, Inc.

AbstractElectricity (MIC: SIC: 4911 NAIC: 221121)Progress Energy is a utility holding company. Co.'s wholly owned regulated subsidiaries, Carolina Power & Light Company, and Florida Power Corporation, each a business segment, are primarily engaged in the generation, transmission, distribution and sale of electricity in portions of North Carolina, South Carolina and Florida. As of Dec 31 2007, Co. had more than 21,000 megawatts of regulated electric generation capacity, and served approximately 3.1 million retail electric customers as well as other load‐serving entities. Co.'s Corporate and Other segment primarily includes both the operations of Co. and its Progress Energy Service Company, LLC subsidiary.

Progress Energy, Inc.

AbstractElectricity (MIC: 7.1 SIC: 4911 NAIC: 221121)Progress Energy is a utility holding company. Co.'s wholly owned regulated subsidiaries, Carolina Power & Light Company, and Florida Power Corporation, each a business segment, are primarily engaged in the generation, transmission, distribution and sale of electricity in portions of North Carolina, South Carolina and Florida. As of Dec 31 2007, Co. had more than 21,000 megawatts of regulated electric generation capacity, and served approximately 3.1 million retail electric customers as well as other load‐serving entities. Co.'s Corporate and Other segment primarily includes both the operations of Co. and its Progress Energy Service Company, LLC subsidiary.

Progress Energy, Inc.

AbstractElectricity (MIC: 7.1 SIC: 4911 NAIC: 221121)Progress Energy is a utility holding company. Co.'s wholly owned regulated subsidiaries, Carolina Power & Light Company, and Florida Power Corporation, each a business segment, are primarily engaged in the generation, transmission, distribution and sale of electricity in portions of North Carolina, South Carolina and Florida. As of Dec 31 2006, Co. had approximately 21,300 megawatts of regulated electric generation capacity, and served approximately 3.1 million retail electric customers as well as other load‐serving entities. Co. also has a nonregulated Coal and Synthetic Fuels segment which is involved in the production and sale of coal‐based solid synthetic fuels.

Progress Energy, Inc.

AbstractElectricity (MIC: 7.1 SIC: 4911 NAIC: 221121)Progress Energy is a utility holding company. Co.'s wholly owned regulated subsidiaries, Carolina Power & Light Company, and Florida Power Corporation, each a business segment, are primarily engaged in the generation, transmission, distribution and sale of electricity in portions of North Carolina, South Carolina and Florida. As of Dec 31 2006, Co. had approximately 21,300 megawatts of regulated electric generation capacity, and served approximately 3.1 million retail electric customers as well as other load‐serving entities. Co. also has a nonregulated Coal and Synthetic Fuels segment which is involved in the production and sale of coal‐based solid synthetic fuels.

Progress Energy, Inc.

AbstractElectricity (MIC: 7.1 SIC: 4911 NAIC: 221121)Progress Energy is a utility holding company. Co.'s wholly owned regulated subsidiaries, Carolina Power & Light Company, and Florida Power Corporation, each a business segment, are primarily engaged in the generation, transmission, distribution and sale of electricity in portions of North Carolina, South Carolina and Florida. As of Dec 31 2006, Co. had approximately 21,300 megawatts of regulated electric generation capacity, and served approximately 3.1 million retail electric customers as well as other load‐serving entities. Co. also has a nonregulated Coal and Synthetic Fuels segment which is involved in the production and sale of coal‐based solid synthetic fuels.

Progress Energy, Inc.

AbstractElectricity (MIC: 7.1 SIC: 4911 NAIC:221121)Progress Energy is a utility holding company. Co.'s wholly owned regulated subsidiaries, Carolina Power & Light Company, and Florida Power Corporation, each a business segment, are primarily engaged in the generation, transmission, distribution and sale of electricity in portions of North Carolina, South Carolina and Florida. At Dec 31 2006, Co. had approximately 21,300 megawatts of regulated electric generation capacity, and served approximately 3.1 million retail electric customers as well as other load‐serving entities. Co. also has a nonregulated Coal and Synthetic Fuels segment which is involved in the production and sale of coal‐based solid synthetic fuels.

A Statistical Procedure to Forecast Warm Season Lightning over Portions of the Florida Peninsula

Abstract Sixteen years of cloud-to-ground lightning data from the National Lightning Detection Network and morning radiosonde-derived parameters are used to develop a statistical scheme to provide improved forecast guidance for warm season afternoon and evening lightning for 11 areas of the Florida peninsula serviced by Florida Power and Light Corporation (FPL). Logistic regression techniques are used to develop equations predicting whether at least one flash will occur during the noon–midnight period in each area, as well as the amount of lightning that can be expected during this same period, conditional on at least one flash occurring. For the amount of lightning, the best results are achieved by creating four quartile categories of flash count based on climatology, and then using three logistic equations and a decision tree approach to determine the most likely quartile. A combination of forward stepwise screening and cross validation are used to select the best combination of predictors that are most likely to generalize to independent data. Results show the guidance equations to be superior to persistence on both the dependent dataset and during cross validation. The greatest skill scores are achieved for predicting whether at least one flash will occur, as well as predicting the number of flashes to within one quartile of that observed. These results demonstrate that the equations possess forecast skill and will provide useful guidance for the probability and amount of lightning in each of the 11 FPL service areas.

Stochastic regularization of feedwater flow rate evaluation for the venturi meter fouling problem in nuclear power plants

Inferential sensing is a method that can be used to evaluate the value of physical system parameters, such as flows, pressures or temperatures based on a set of related measurements. The most common method of inferential sensing uses mathematical models to infer a parameter value from a set of correlated sensor values. However, since inferential sensing is an inverse problem, it can produce inconsistent results due to minor perturbations in the data. This research shows that regularization techinques can be used in inferential sensing to produce consistent results. The important example of monitoring nuclear power plant feedwater flow rate is presented using data from Florida Power Corporation's Crystal River Nuclear Power Plant.

Regularization of Feedwater Flow Rate Evaluation for Venturi Meter Fouling Problem in Nuclear Power Plants

Inferential sensing is a method that can be used to evaluate parameters of a physical system based on a set of measurements related to these parameters. The most common method of inferential sensing uses mathematical models to infer a parameter value from correlated sensor values. However, since inferential sensing is an inverse problem, it can produce inconsistent results due to minor perturbations in the data. This research shows that regularization can be used in inferential sensing to produce consistent results. Data from Florida Power Corporation’s Crystal River nuclear power plant (NPP) are used to give an important example of monitoring NPP feedwater flow rate.

Florida Power Corporation–Anclote Power Plant Entrainment Survival of Zooplankton

Abstract Florida Power Corporation (FPC) owns and operates the Anclote Power Plant at the mouth of the Anclote River on the Gulf of Mexico near Tarpon Springs, Florida. The circulating water system for the plant consists of six circulating water pumps, four cooling tower pumps serving two sidestream mechanical draft cooling towers, and four dilution pumps. The dilution pumps, which transfer water directly from the intake canal to the discharge canal, are capable of achieving FPC’s thermal discharge limitations when the ambient temperature is favorable. However, allowable dilution pump usage has been severely limited in past renewals of the NPDES Permit due to the conservative agency assumption that no zooplankton survived entrainment through these pumps. However, during a recent renewal of the NPDES Permit for Anclote, FPC proposed to the Florida Department of Environmental Protection (FDEP) an increase in dilution pump operation. To facilitate the review of this proposal, FPC agreed to perform a study of entrainment survival through the plant during September–November 1995. The results of this study demonstrated that overall entrainment survival for selected life stages and species of zooplankton, including ichthyoplankton, was significantly greater than had been previously hypothesized. Interestingly, the data demonstrated that zooplankton survived entrainment through the unit condensers at a mean overall rate of 68.2%, despite experiencing a temperature differential of up to 7°C. Mean overall survival through the dilution pumps was calculated to be 87.0%. This information was used by the FDEP as the basis for a permit revision allowing increased usage of the dilution pumps for control of thermal discharges. This allows FPC to greatly reduce operation of the cooling towers, which cause near total mortality of entrained zooplankton due to mechanical and chemical stressors.

Use of Autoassociative Neural Networks for Signal Validation

Recently, the use of Autoassociative Neural Networks (AANNs) to perform on-line calibration monitoring of process sensors has been shown to not only be feasible, but practical as well. This paper summarizes the results of applying AANNs to instrument surveillance and calibration monitoring at Florida Power Corporation’s Crystal River #3 Nuclear Power Plant and at the Oak Ridge National Laboratory High Flux Isotope Reactor. In both cases sensor drifts are detectable at a nominal level of 0.5% instrument’s full scale range. This paper will discuss the selection of a five layer neural network architecture, a robust training paradigm, the input selection criteria, and a retuning algorithm.

97/04860 Developments in staged combustor technology: Murrell, F. J. and Ashworth, R. A. Proc. Annu. Int. Pittsburgh Coal Conf., 1996, 13, (1), 210–215

A staged coal combustor is being developed under a licensing agreement with Florida Power Corporation. This new technology offers life extension for aging cyclone-fired units that are threatened with shut-down because of EPA`s new NOx emission regulations. The combustor is called the CAIRE{trademark} Combustor, for Controlled AIR Emissions. The CAIRE combustor is designed for reduction of NOx, and removal of sulfur and slag in the combustor proper, thus controlling on the front end of the combustion process, the quantity of pollutants that enter a boiler furnace. At present status, the CAIRE Combustor technology has been developed through pilot plant (12 million Btu/hr) operation. A 50 million Btu/hr commercial prototype unit is in the design phase with startup and testing being scheduled for late 1996, early 1997. The goal of this combustor development, when applied to electric utility boilers, is to reduce particulate (also PM-10 and certain HAPS) up to 75 to 80%, reduce nitrogen oxide emissions to 0.30 lb per million Btu of coal fired and to reduce sulfur oxide emissions by 70 to 90%. Further, this combustor is designed for low pressure drop to minimize auxiliary power requirements. With the use of this combustion technique, the three major airmore » emissions pollutants associated with coal combustion can be significantly reduced in one device at a low cost. The advanced technology represented by the CAIRE Combustor, holds the key to low cost and environmentally acceptable (low particulate and acid rain precursors) high sulfur coal combustion. It also provides benefits for combustion of low rank Western coals.« less

Signal Validation Using an Adaptive Neural Fuzzy Inference System

An adaptive neural fuzzy inference system modeling technique is introduced for sensor and associated instrument channel calibration validation. This method uses an inferential-modeling technique after a genetic algorithm search is used to empirically determine the appropriate combinations of input variables to optimally model each signal to be monitored. These variables are used as input to a fuzzy inference system that is trained to estimate the monitored signals. The estimates are compared with the actual signals, and a statistical decision technique known as the sequential probability ratio test is used to detect sensor anomalies. The sensor fault detection system is demonstrated using data supplied from Florida Power Corporation’s Crystal River Unit 3 nuclear power generating station.

State-of-the-Art Mulberry Cogeneration Facility

The Mulberry Cogeneration Facility is notable in thepower industry. Among the features that make this 120 MWfacility stand apart from other power plants are zero dischargewastewater system, an inlet air chilling system, and an exten-sive Distributed Control System (DCS) for overall plant opera-tion, along with a 25 ppm NO x dry emission limit on gas fuel forthe first 3 years and 15 ppm thereafter.The Mulberry Cogeneration Facility is owned by Polk PowerPartners Ltd. (Central and South West Energy of Dallas and ARKEnergy of Laguna Hills, California). The Plant is operated by CSWEnergy. Central and South West Services acted as the EPC contractor,and retained Black & Veatch to provide engineering and procurementservices, construction liaison, and start-up support .The facility , located near Bartow, Florida, consists of a singlecombustion turbine/heat recovery steam generator (HRSG)/steam tur-bine combined cycle. It provides electric power to nearby Tampa Elec-tric and Florida Power Corporation, and up to 25,000 lb/h of processsteam to an adjacent steam host facility that was also developed by thepartnership . The Mulberry Cogeneration Facility began commercialoperation on August 10, 1994.

Panel on transmission impacts related to siting locations of nonutility generation: NUG siting affects the interchange flow exposure to bottlenecks

This discussion addresses the site specific impact that a generator can have upon Florida Power Corporation's (FPC) ability to sustain interchange power transactions. Florida, being a peninsula, has an electrical interface to the north which is both reasonably well defined and predictable. The author discusses the operating criteria of the electrical interface, general siting concepts, NUG siting in FPC's area and its impact on FPC. The author concludes that: generator location can affect the ability to use the transmission system to transfer power; that effect can be measured; incremental transfer improvements in Florida are expensive; all proposed users of these improvements should bear the incremental cost; rate-payers are entitled to the most economical purchases; and utility stockholders should not bear adverse burden of a NUG generator connection. >

Oglethorpe Power Corporation Decides about Investing in a Major Transmission System

Oglethorpe Power Corporation (OPC) provides wholesale power to consumer-owned distribution cooperatives in Georgia. Late in 1990, OPC managers learned that Florida Power Corporation wanted to expand its connections to Georgia with another transmission line. To decide whether to build this line, OPC worked with Applied Decision Analysis, Inc. to conduct a comprehensive decision analysis in less than two weeks. The results of the analysis helped persuade OPC to shift from a joint venture strategy with Georgia Power to an independent strategy of direct negotiations with Florida Power. These negotiations would serve as a first step towards building the transmission line, and would keep other options open as information regarding the competitive situation was gathered.

Managing life‐cycle costs: Applications and lessons learned at leading utilities

AbstractLife‐cycle cost management (LCCM) provides electric utility staff with a structured process for making decisions based on the true cost of the products and processes they use, rather than on purchase price alone or on other partial life‐cycle costs. Several utilities have used LCCM to evaluate a range of product substitution and process improvement decisions and to implement cost‐saving actions. This article summarizes some of these applications. Each utility applied the LCCM tools and techniques in a way that met their individual needs, such as selecting cost‐effective specific pollution prevention options, making product purchase decisions, making process improvement decisions, managing commodities, and setting priorities for further evaluation. LCCM has helped utilities save millions of dollars by considering the true costs of the materials, products, and processes they use. This article examines the LCCM techniques and tools that help organizations evaluate their options and make decisions with minimum effort.The authors wish to thank our utility partners for their contributions to developing the LCCM tools and techniques and for their participation in applying these tools and techniques to important decisions: Duke Power Company, Entergy Services Inc., Florida Power Corporation, Niagara Mohawk Power Company, Pacific Gas & Electric Company, and Potomac Electric Power Company. The authors thank the following utility representatives for their valuable contributions: Amy Crews Baxter, Reggie Black, Jay Eingold, Shireen Fahey, Tom Fox, Tom Rooney, and Tyrone Williams. The authors also thank key members of the DFI project team: Nathan Chan, Gillian Lam, Mia Morsy, Jim Mullin, and Valerie Peoples.

Ground Stabilization for foundation and excavation construction in Florida karst topography

The construction of additional facilities at the Florida Power Corporation's Crystal River Energy Complex required an extensive stabilization program to construct foundations for approximately one half mile of cooling towers. This paper presents an overview of the techniques and methods used in the construction of additional facilities at the Crystal River Generating Station. Excavations for intake and discharge structures were to be more than 20 ft below the water table. Cooling tower foundations were constructed on extensively solutioned Florida limerock located on the central Gulf Coast of Florida. Hybrid ground modification techniques were used to stabilize soft or loose soils and solution features in the underlying limerock, allowing mat and spread footing foundations to be used for most of the facility. The ground modification techniques were used to detect, collapse, densify, and fill solution features below the structure foundations. The bearing capacity after ground modification was verified by field load tests. Subsurface investigations indicated that sheet pile excavations with grouted seals were the optimal technique for cofferdam excavations in the limerock formation. Existing collapsed caverns were encountered during construction of the cofferdam for the intake structure and the adjacent discharge structure, requiring a fast-track design change, considerable field coordination, and daily modifications to accommodate the varied conditions encountered. Tied-back soldier pile cofferdam construction was combined with grouting, underwater excavation, and a massive, unreinforced, concrete tremie slab with grouted anchors, and installed off a barge to provide a dewatered excavation. This project involved the use of hybrid soil-rock anchors to anchor one of the largest continuous placement tremie seals installed in Florida. Other excavations used sheeting and grouting of the underlying limerock formation to provide a dewatered excavation. Ground modification techniques were used to treat a filled cavern discovered in the corner of one discharge structure. The entire construction of this facility was confined to a narrow work area by existing wetlands and the generating station discharge canal. Strict environmental restrictions required by the regulatory agencies to prevent impacts to the surrounding area were imposed on this project.

Measurements and computations of the performance of grounding systems buried in multilayer soils

The resistances and earth potentials of two Florida Power Corporation electric substation grounding systems buried in soils with multiple horizontal layers were computed and measured at various phases of their installation, i.e., starting from a one mesh grid to the final design consisting of many regular meshes. Soil resistivity at each site was measured and interpreted to obtain equivalent two-layer and multilayer earth structures. It is shown that good agreement is obtained between the measured and computed values if multilayer earth structure models are used in the computations. Poor agreement results when uniform soil models are considered. >