Florida Power & Light Company (FPL), the principal subsidiary of NextEra Energy Inc. (formerly FPL Group, Inc.), is the largest power utility in Florida. It is a Juno Beach, Florida-based power utility company serving roughly 5 million customers and 11 million people in Florida.: 5 It is a rate-regulated electric utility that generates, transmits, distributes and sells electric energy.In January 2021 Gulf Power Company was merged into FPL, extending the combined service territory into northwest Florida. Gulf Power will operate as a separate division within FPL through 2021.FPL is a regulated monopoly. FPL is one of Florida's biggest spender on political campaigns and lobbying. The company has funded "ghost" candidate spoiler campaigns that are intended to confuse voters and dilute votes for Democratic candidates. The company has lobbied against solar energy and sought to hinder rooftop solar panel installations by individuals and businesses. Gulf Power will operate as a separate division within FPL through 2021.
This paper evaluates an existing protection scheme implemented in a real-world weak grid area with a high penetration of inverter-based resources (IBRs). The study aims to assess the reliability and adequacy of protection schemes originally designed for traditional synchronous machine systems and determine whether they can continue to operate reliably in systems with high levels of IBRs. Hardware relays are tested using a controller-hardware-in-the-loop setup. PSCAD electromagnetic transient simulation with an IBR original equipment manufacturer black-box model is used to perform fault studies and generate COMTRADE data, which are replayed by a real-time digital simulator (RTDS) to feed input to the hardware relays. Three scenarios are analyzed: normal operation, an N-1 contingency, and an IBR-only scenario. The evaluation results reveal the following: 1) the protection scheme remains reliable under normal conditions and N-1 contingencies and 2) in IBR-only scenarios, differential protection (87L) continues to operate reliably, whereas local protection elements, such as distance and directional elements, fail because of the lack of regulated negative sequence current contributed by IBRs. These findings provide utilities with valuable insights for improving their protection systems in high-IBRs.
Power electronics-based resources, such as high-voltage direct current (HVdc) substations, photovoltaic (PV) plants, wind plants, electric vehicle charging stations, and energy storage systems, are increasingly being integrated within the power grid. Recently, multiple reports have emphasized the necessity for high-fidelity electromagnetic transient (EMT) simulations of these large-scale power electronics-based resources to accurately understand their behavior in power grids. However, performing hardware-based EMT simulations with high-fidelity models for such large power electronics systems is challenging due to the small time-step requirements and the involvement of a large number of states. This paper presents the implementation of hardware-based high-fidelity EMT dynamic model of a large-scale PV plant, accomplished through custom model development using the specific-C language in real-time digital simulator hardware (RTDS) and software (RSCAD).
Coastal roadways with tall, full-spectrum streetlights along sea turtle nesting beaches present a challenge for managers seeking to balance protection of sea turtles with public safety. Many communities extinguish these lights during nesting season to avoid impacting nesting and hatchling sea turtles. Long-wavelength light emitting diodes (LEDs) offer an alternative for managers in these communities, but additional information on sea turtle response to these lights is warranted prior to installation. We conducted arena assays on Florida's west coast to evaluate hatchling orientation when exposed to a shielded, long-wavelength (624 nm) prototype lamp compared to an adjacent beach with the streetlights turned off. We compared orientation in test and control arenas simultaneously over two consecutive nights, recording crawl direction and timing for individual hatchlings. Hatchlings in test and control arenas oriented correctly toward the ocean in all trials, with no differences in hatchling dispersion or circling. Thus, the fully shielded, long-wavelength LED streetlight fixture tested provides an appropriate option to minimize impacts to sea turtles along coastal roadways throughout the Unites States and elsewhere. As such, this alternative solution to extinguishing necessary streetlights can aid coastal managers in concurrently protecting nesting habitat and providing light for public safety.
