FPL Tests Onsite Hydrogen Generation at the Rivera Power Plant

FPL’s Riviera Plant improved overall operations by introducing the HOGEN® onsite hydrogen generator and the StableFlow™ hydrogen control system.

Background

Florida Power and Light (FPL) is one of the largest and fastest growing utilities in the nation. In 2005, the utility had a generating capacity of 24,000 megawatts and anticipated 80,000 new customers annually. Its Riviera Power Plant has two active generating units that burn natural gas or fuel oil and utilizes hydrogen as a cooling gas in the generator cylinder. The plant, capable of generating up to 580 megawatts of electricity and serving more than 136,000 customers, was using about 15 cylinders of hydrogen per week for daily usage requirements. This required storing 60-100 gas cylinders on site (to provide purity purge gas when needed and refill the unit after an outage) at a cost of $4 - $8 per 100 cf. The majority of hydrogen costs are associated with the filling, transportation, and rental of the cylinders themselves. A technology evaluation program was initiated by FPL engineers to determine if onsite hydrogen generation and control systems could improve overall efficiency at the Riviera Plant.