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FL — Power Infrastructure Updated January 2026

Florida

Power generation, transmission, storage, and interconnection topics relevant to data center power supply in Florida.

SERC Natural Gas Nuclear Solar Storage Queue Bottlenecks Transmission Constraints

Overview

Florida’s power buildout is dominated by solar and storage. FPL, Duke Energy Florida, and Tampa Electric collectively plan to add over 25 GW of solar and 8 GW of battery storage by the mid-2030s, supported by natural gas combustion turbines for reliability. Transmission expansion requires state-level certification for lines over 230 kV that cross county boundaries, and the statewide interconnection queue holds 23.57 GW of generation requests.

Generation Projects

Natural Gas

Florida’s investor-owned utilities plan combustion turbine additions to back up solar and replace retiring units.

  • FPL combustion turbines: FPL’s 2025–2034 site plan adds 475 MW of combustion turbine capacity in 2032 to meet long-term load growth.[1]
  • Duke Energy Florida upgrades: DEF plans efficiency upgrades adding roughly 400 MW of combined-cycle capacity, plus four combustion turbines in 2032–2033 to replace retiring units.[2]
  • Tampa Electric plant upgrades: TECO will upgrade Bayside Unit 2 hardware and modify Polk units to improve fuel resilience and flexibility.[3]

Nuclear

Florida operates four nuclear reactors and has no new builds planned.

  • FPL nuclear fleet: FPL’s plan assumes continued operation of Turkey Point Units 3–4 and St. Lucie Units 1–2 through extended license terms, with no new nuclear units proposed through 2034.[1]

Solar

All three major utilities plan aggressive solar buildouts, making Florida one of the nation’s top solar growth states.

  • FPL solar buildout: FPL plans 17,433 MW of additional solar by 2034 (mostly 74.5 MW sites), bringing total solar capacity to 24,471 MW.[1]
  • Duke Energy Florida solar additions: DEF projects adding at least 450 MW per year of utility-scale solar, exceeding 6,100 MW by the end of 2033.[2]
  • Tampa Electric solar additions: TECO plans 1.5 GW of incremental solar, bringing total committed solar to nearly 2,800 MW by the end of the study horizon.[3]

Transmission and Grid

Florida requires state certification for major transmission lines, adding a formal review step for grid expansion.

  • FPL Sweatt–Whidden 230 kV line: An 80-mile, 230 kV line from Sweatt Substation (Okeechobee County) to Whidden Substation (DeSoto County), certified in September 2022.[4]
  • Duke DeLand West–Dona Vista 230 kV line: A proposed 26.26-mile, 230 kV line from DeLand West (Volusia County) to Dona Vista (Lake County), under review via the Transmission Line Siting Act.[5]
  • OUC Resiliency Connection Project: Orlando Utilities Commission is building a new 230 kV transmission line to meet growing load in St. Cloud and southeastern Orlando.[6]
  • Transmission Line Siting Act: Florida’s siting law applies to lines 230 kV or greater, crossing a county line, and 15 miles or longer, requiring state certification for major grid upgrades.[7]

Battery Storage

Florida utilities plan over 8 GW of battery storage to support solar integration and storm resilience.

  • FPL installed and planned storage: FPL reports 469 MW of grid-scale storage in service, including 409 MW at the Manatee site and two 30 MW batteries at Echo River and Sunshine Gateway. FPL plans 521.5 MW more in 2025 and 7,603 MW of additional storage by 2034.[1]
  • Duke Energy Florida grid-scale storage: DEF plans a 100 MW / 200 MWh transmission-tied battery in 2027, plus additional solar-paired batteries in 2028–2030.[2]
  • Tampa Electric storage: TECO plans about 185 MW of energy storage to support reserve margins and storm resilience.[3]

Interconnection Queue

Florida’s interconnection queue holds hundreds of generation requests totaling over 23 GW.

  • Queue scale: Interconnection.fyi lists 262 active Florida generation interconnection requests totaling 23.57 GW, updated daily from ISO and utility sources.[8]
  • Bottleneck signals: The queue size and Florida’s Transmission Line Siting Act for major lines (230 kV or greater, 15+ miles, county crossing) indicate that large load growth depends on timely transmission approvals and utility-level interconnection processing.[7][8]

What to Watch

  • Duke DeLand West–Dona Vista 230 kV line decision — a key test of Florida’s transmission siting process for grid expansion.
  • FPL and Duke solar deployment pace — whether the planned 450+ MW/year solar additions stay on schedule through the late 2020s.
  • Data center PPA disclosures — hyperscaler sustainability reports and green tariff filings may reveal Florida-specific power agreements not yet in public utility plans.

Sources

[1] Florida Power & Light Company, Ten Year Power Plant Site Plan 2025–2034, April 2025, https://www.fpl.com/content/dam/fplgp/us/en/about/pdf/ten-year-site-plan.pdf (accessed January 8, 2026).

[2] Duke Energy Florida, LLC, 2024 Ten-Year Site Plan (Amended), April 22, 2024, https://www.floridapsc.com/pscfiles/website-files/PDF/Utilities/Electricgas/TenYearSitePlans/2024/DEF-revised.pdf (accessed January 8, 2026).

[3] Tampa Electric Company, Ten-Year Site Plan 2024 (January 2024–December 2033), April 1, 2024, https://www.floridapsc.com/pscfiles/website-files/pdf/Utilities/Electricgas/TenYearSitePlans/2024/Tampa%20Electric%20Company%20-%20Revised.pdf (accessed January 8, 2026).

[4] Florida Department of Environmental Protection, FPL Sweatt-Whidden 230 kV Line, September 22, 2022, https://floridadep.gov/water/siting-coordination-office/content/fpl-sweatt-whidden-230kv-line (accessed January 8, 2026).

[5] Florida Department of Environmental Protection, DEF DeLand West–Dona Vista 230 kV Transmission Line Project (TA25-20), n.d., https://floridadep.gov/water/siting-coordination-office/content/def-deland-west-dona-vista-230kv-transmission-line-project (accessed January 8, 2026).

[6] Orlando Utilities Commission, Resiliency Connection Project, November 25, 2025 (last updated), https://www.ouc.com/about/infrastructure-projects/resiliency-connection/ (accessed January 8, 2026).

[7] Florida Department of Environmental Protection, Transmission Line Siting Act, n.d., https://floridadep.gov/water/siting-coordination-office/content/transmission-line-siting-act (accessed January 8, 2026).

[8] Interconnection.fyi, Latest Active Florida Generation Interconnection Queue Requests, n.d., https://www.interconnection.fyi/?state=FL (accessed January 8, 2026).