Washington (Platts)--19Dec2007

Progress Energy Florida expects to have three power plants totaling 280 MW of
capacity online during 2011, and it is estimating that the three units will
avoid the need to burn 19 million short tons of coal over the lives of the
utility's power contracts.

But that doesn't mean the Florida utility is cutting back on its coal burn,
Progress spokeswoman Cherie Jacobs told Platts on Tuesday. This is additional
power for Progress' portfolio. "We see about 2% growth every year," she said.

Tuesday, the St. Petersburg utility announced that it has signed another
contract to acquire power from a biomass-fueled facility planned for
construction. This marks the third such contract that Progress has signed, and
the second with Biomass Gas & Electric. BG&E plans to build a power plant in
north or central Florida that will use waste wood products ? such as yard
trimmings, tree bark and wood knots from paper mills ? to generate about 75
MW, with commercial operation expected to begin in June 2011.

"The plant is expected to avoid the need to burn nearly 5 million tons of coal
over the 20-year life of the contract," Progress said in its Tuesday
statement. "It would be identical to BG&E's waste-wood plant announced in
July. Progress Energy Florida agreed to buy the output of that plant as well."

The first waste-wood plant is expected to begin operation in January 2011.

Also, Jacobs said, Progress is taking power from a third biomass plant being
built by Biomass Investment Group. That one is 130 MW and will use a plant
called E-grass, similar to bamboo. "That plant is expected to avoid the need
to burn nearly 9 million tons of coal over the 25-year life of the contract,"
she said (PCT 5/2/06).

The BIG plant also is expected to come online in 2011. Progress signed that
contract in May 2006 to take the power from what will become the nation's
largest biomass plant.

This is an excerpt. For more news, request a free trial to 
Platts Coal Trader at
http://www.platts.com/Request%20More%20Information/index.xml?src=story