FPL acelera proyectos importantes de desarrollo de energía solar - ahora planea agregar ocho nuevas plantas de energía solar universal de manera rentable a comienzos de 2018

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"Hemos trabajado arduamente para reducir los costos necesarios para desarrollar energía solar a fin de poder suministrar aún más energía sin emisiones para todos nuestros clientes. Siendo la primera empresa en impulsar la generación de energía solar de manera rentable en la Florida, nos enorgullece continuar siendo líderes en el avance de una infraestructura de energía asequible y limpia. Hemos demostrado que es posible reducir las emisiones, proporcionar un servicio fiable y, al mismo tiempo, mantener las cuentas de electricidad bajas para nuestros clientes", dijo Eric Silagy, presidente y director ejecutivo de FPL, durante una celebración en el Centro de Energía Solar Manatee de FPL, una de las tres plantas de energía solar completadas recientemente por la empresa.

FPL está clasificada consistentemente como una de las empresas de servicio eléctrico más fiables y más limpias del país, y el precio que paga un cliente típico residencial de 1,000 kWh de FPL por su electricidad continúa siendo menor que hace 10 años atrás y está bien por debajo del promedio nacional. Continuando con esta tendencia, está previsto que los nuevos centros de energía solar que FPL planea construir sean rentables durante toda su vida útil operativa, generando millones de dólares de ahorros netos a largo plazo para nuestros clientes.

Cada una de las ocho nuevas plantas de energía solar tendrá una capacidad de 74.5 megavatios, con una generación total combinada de casi 600 megavatios, suficiente para alimentar aproximadamente 120,000 hogares. Las plantas estarán ubicadas a lo largo de la Florida, incluyendo los tres sitios previamente anunciados en los condados de Alachua, Putnam y DeSoto. Las ubicaciones de todas las instalaciones nuevas serán anunciadas en las próximas semanas.

Se espera que la construcción comience durante esta primavera. En la etapa de mayor trabajo de la construcción, se estima que de 200 a 250 personas estarán trabajando en cada ubicación.

FPL anunció sus planes acelerados de energía solar en un evento celebrado hoy en la comunidad ante cientos de estudiantes y líderes de todo el estado, quienes se reunieron para celebrar las últimas plantas de energía solar construidas por la empresa – el Centro de Energía Solar Manatee de FPL, el Centro de Energía Solar Citrus de FPL y el Centro de Energía Solar Babcock Ranch de FPL, los cuales comenzaron a suministrar energía a nuestros clientes el 31 de diciembre de 2016.

"Hace un año, me paré aquí cuando FPL comenzó la construcción de este centro solar, marcando el inicio de la instalación de un millón de paneles solares que ahora están generando energía sin emisiones", dijo Eric Draper, director ejecutivo de Audubon Florida, en la celebración del día de hoy. "Ocho nuevos centros de energía solar adicionales es un paso importante para reducir las emisiones de carbono y ahorrar agua, beneficiando a la tierra y a todos los residentes de la Florida".

Respaldando el compromiso a largo plazo de FPL con la educación STEM (ciencia, tecnología, ingeniería y matemática), el evento también incluyó una competencia de energía solar copatrocinada por el Centro de Energía Solar de la Florida (Florida Solar Energy Center). Casi 50 equipos de estudiantes de los grados 4.º hasta 12.º, provenientes de escuelas de todo el estado participaron en la competencia, construyendo hornos solares, automóviles solares y otros proyectos innovadores.

La estrategia de energía asequible y limpia de FPL continúa beneficiando a nuestros clientes

El enfoque innovador de FPL de invertir en infraestructura de energía asequible y limpia desde 2001, que incluye agregar tecnologías avanzadas y retirar progresivamente de servicio las plantas de energía más antiguas alimentadas con petróleo y carbón, les ha ahorrado a los clientes de FPL más de $8,600 millones en costos de combustibles fósiles y evitó la emisión de 108 millones de toneladas de carbono.

Actualmente, FPL está por debajo de la meta para el 2030 de emisiones de carbono establecida en el Plan de Energía Limpia (Clean Power Plan) de la Agencia de Protección Ambiental de EE.UU. (U.S. Environmental Protection Agency) para la Florida, mientras que las cuentas típicas de los clientes residenciales de la empresa están entre las más bajas del país.

Principales instalaciones de energía solar de FPL en funcionamiento actualmente

FPL opera actualmente una capacidad de generación de energía solar de más de 335 megavatios, suficiente para alimentar 60,000 hogares. Las principales instalaciones incluyen:

• Centro de Energía Solar de Nueva Generación DeSoto de FPL, Condado de DeSoto
• Centro de Energía Solar de Nueva Generación Space Coast de FPL, Condado de Brevard
• Centro de Energía Limpia Martin de FPL (generación híbrida con energía solar/gas natural), Condado de Martin
• Circuito de Energía Solar de FPL en el autódromo Daytona International Speedway, Condado de Volusia
• Instalación de investigación de energía solar en FIU, Condado de Miami-Dade
• Sistema FPL SolarNow en el Museo y Biblioteca Young At Art de Broward (Broward Young At Art Museum & Library), Condado de Broward
• Sistema FPL SolarNow en el Zoológico y Sociedad de Preservación de Palm Beach (Palm Beach Zoo & Conservation Society), Condado de Palm Beach
• Sistema FPL SolarNow en la Reserva Natural del Estuario Palmetto, Condado de Manatee
• Centro de Energía Solar Babcock Ranch de FPL, Condado de Charlotte
• Centro de Energía Solar Citrus de FPL, Condado de DeSoto
• Centro de Energía Solar Manatee de FPL, Condado de Manatee

Además, FPL ha instalado sistemas de energía solar a pequeña escala en más de 100 escuelas y establecimientos educativos de la Florida. FPL también patrocina 50 equipos o clubes de robótica y una exhibición itinerante de ciencias que se presenta ante aproximadamente 80,000 estudiantes de escuela primaria cada año.

Para más información, visite www.FPL.com/solar.

Florida Power & Light Company

Florida Power & Light Company es la tercera empresa de energía eléctrica más grande en los Estados Unidos, proporcionando servicio a aproximadamente 4.9 millones de cuentas de clientes, o según se estima a unas 10 millones de personas, en alrededor de la mitad del estado de la Florida. La cuenta típica de cliente residencial de 1,000-kWh de FPL es aproximadamente un 25 por ciento más baja que el promedio nacional y, en 2016, fue la más baja en la Florida por séptimo año consecutivo entre las empresas de energía eléctrica que reportan estos datos. La fiabilidad del servicio de FPL es superior al 99.98 por ciento, y sus plantas de energía de uso altamente eficiente del combustible son de las más limpias entre todas las empresas de energía eléctrica del país. La empresa recibió la mayor clasificación en el sur de los EE.UU. entre las grandes empresas de energía eléctrica de todo el país, de acuerdo con el Estudio de Satisfacción de Clientes Residenciales de Empresas de Energía Eléctrica 2016 de J.D. Power, y fue reconocida en el 2016 por Market Strategies International como una de las empresas de servicio público más fiables de los EE.UU. Siendo un empleador líder en la Florida con aproximadamente 8,900 empleados, FPL es una subsidiaria de NextEra Energy, Inc. (NYSE: NEE), con su sede en Juno Beach, y es una compañía de energía limpia ampliamente reconocida por sus esfuerzos en lo referente a la sostenibilidad, la ética y la diversidad, y ha sido clasificada en el puesto N.º 1 entre las empresas de electricidad y gas en la lista Fortune de 2016 de las "Empresas más Admiradas del Mundo". NextEra Energy también es la compañía matriz de NextEra Energy Resources, LLC, que, junto con sus entidades afiliadas, es uno de los mayores generadores de energía renovable eólica y solar del mundo. Para más información sobre las compañías de NextEra Energy, visite estos sitios de Internet: www.NextEraEnergy.com, www.FPL.com, www.NextEraEnergyResources.com.

Cautionary Statements and Risk Factors That May Affect Future Results

This news release contains "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of the safe harbor provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Forward-looking statements are not statements of historical facts, but instead represent the current expectations of NextEra Energy, Inc. (NextEra Energy) and Florida Power & Light Company (FPL) regarding future operating results and other future events, many of which, by their nature, are inherently uncertain and outside of NextEra Energy's and FPL's control. In some cases, you can identify the forward-looking statements by words or phrases such as "will," "may result," "expect," "anticipate," "believe," "intend," "plan," "seek," "aim," "potential," "projection," "forecast," "predict," "goals," "target," "outlook," "should," "would" or similar words or expressions. You should not place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements, which are not a guarantee of future performance. The future results of NextEra Energy and FPL and their business and financial condition are subject to risks and uncertainties that could cause their actual results to differ materially from those expressed or implied in the forward-looking statements, or may require them to limit or eliminate certain operations. These risks and uncertainties include, but are not limited to, the following: effects of extensive regulation of NextEra Energy's and FPL's business operations; inability of NextEra Energy and FPL to recover in a timely manner any significant amount of costs, a return on certain assets or a reasonable return on invested capital through base rates, cost recovery clauses, other regulatory mechanisms or otherwise; impact of political, regulatory and economic factors on regulatory decisions important to NextEra Energy and FPL; disallowance of cost recovery by FPL based on a finding of imprudent use of derivative instruments; effect of any reductions to, or elimination of, governmental incentives or policies that support utility scale renewable energy projects of NextEra Energy Resources, LLC and its affiliated entities (NextEra Energy Resources) or the imposition of additional taxes or assessments on renewable energy; impact of new or revised laws, regulations, interpretations or other regulatory initiatives on NextEra Energy and FPL; effect on NextEra Energy and FPL of potential regulatory action to broaden the scope of regulation of over-the-counter (OTC) financial derivatives and to apply such regulation to NextEra Energy and FPL; capital expenditures, increased operating costs and various liabilities attributable to environmental laws, regulations and other standards applicable to NextEra Energy and FPL; effects on NextEra Energy and FPL of federal or state laws or regulations mandating new or additional limits on the production of greenhouse gas emissions; exposure of NextEra Energy and FPL to significant and increasing compliance costs and substantial monetary penalties and other sanctions as a result of extensive federal regulation of their operations; effect on NextEra Energy and FPL of changes in tax laws and in judgments and estimates used to determine tax-related asset and liability amounts; impact on NextEra Energy and FPL of adverse results of litigation; effect on NextEra Energy and FPL of failure to proceed with projects under development or inability to complete the construction of (or capital improvements to) electric generation, transmission and distribution facilities, gas infrastructure facilities or other facilities on schedule or within budget; impact on development and operating activities of NextEra Energy and FPL resulting from risks related to project siting, financing, construction, permitting, governmental approvals and the negotiation of project development agreements; risks involved in the operation and maintenance of electric generation, transmission and distribution facilities, gas infrastructure facilities and other facilities; effect on NextEra Energy and FPL of a lack of growth or slower growth in the number of customers or in customer usage; impact on NextEra Energy and FPL of severe weather and other weather conditions; threats of terrorism and catastrophic events that could result from terrorism, cyber attacks or other attempts to disrupt NextEra Energy's and FPL's business or the businesses of third parties; inability to obtain adequate insurance coverage for protection of NextEra Energy and FPL against significant losses and risk that insurance coverage does not provide protection against all significant losses; a prolonged period of low gas and oil prices could impact NextEra Energy Resources' gas infrastructure business and cause NextEra Energy Resources to delay or cancel certain gas infrastructure projects and for certain existing projects to be impaired; risk to NextEra Energy Resources of increased operating costs resulting from unfavorable supply costs necessary to provide NextEra Energy Resources' full energy and capacity requirement services; inability or failure by NextEra Energy Resources to manage properly or hedge effectively the commodity risk within its portfolio; potential volatility of NextEra Energy's results of operations caused by sales of power on the spot market or on a short-term contractual basis; effect of reductions in the liquidity of energy markets on NextEra Energy's ability to manage operational risks; effectiveness of NextEra Energy's and FPL's risk management tools associated with their hedging and trading procedures to protect against significant losses, including the effect of unforeseen price variances from historical behavior; impact of unavailability or disruption of power transmission or commodity transportation facilities on sale and delivery of power or natural gas by FPL and NextEra Energy Resources; exposure of NextEra Energy and FPL to credit and performance risk from customers, hedging counterparties and vendors; failure of NextEra Energy or FPL counterparties to perform under derivative contracts or of requirement for NextEra Energy or FPL to post margin cash collateral under derivative contracts; failure or breach of NextEra Energy's or FPL's information technology systems; risks to NextEra Energy and FPL's retail businesses from compromise of sensitive customer data; losses from volatility in the market values of derivative instruments and limited liquidity in OTC markets; impact of negative publicity; inability of NextEra Energy and FPL to maintain, negotiate or renegotiate acceptable franchise agreements with municipalities and counties in Florida; increasing costs of health care plans; lack of a qualified workforce or the loss or retirement of key employees; occurrence of work strikes or stoppages and increasing personnel costs; NextEra Energy's ability to successfully identify, complete and integrate acquisitions, including the effect of increased competition for acquisitions; NextEra Energy Partners, LP's (NEP's) acquisitions may not be completed and, even if completed, NextEra Energy may not realize the anticipated benefits of any acquisitions; environmental, health and financial risks associated with NextEra Energy Resources' and FPL's ownership and operation of nuclear generation facilities; liability of NextEra Energy and FPL for significant retrospective assessments and/or retrospective insurance premiums in the event of an incident at certain nuclear generation facilities; increased operating and capital expenditures at nuclear generation facilities of NextEra Energy or FPL resulting from orders or new regulations of the Nuclear Regulatory Commission; inability to operate any of NextEra Energy Resources' or FPL's owned nuclear generation units through the end of their respective operating licenses; liability of NextEra Energy and FPL for increased nuclear licensing or compliance costs resulting from hazards, and increased public attention to hazards, posed to their owned nuclear generation facilities; risks associated with outages of NextEra Energy Resources' and FPL's owned nuclear units; effect of disruptions, uncertainty or volatility in the credit and capital markets on NextEra Energy's and FPL's ability to fund their liquidity and capital needs and meet their growth objectives; inability of NextEra Energy, FPL and NextEra Energy Capital Holdings, Inc. to maintain their current credit ratings; impairment of NextEra Energy's and FPL's liquidity from inability of credit providers to fund their credit commitments or to maintain their current credit ratings; poor market performance and other economic factors that could affect NextEra Energy's defined benefit pension plan's funded status; poor market performance and other risks to the asset values of NextEra Energy's and FPL's nuclear decommissioning funds; changes in market value and other risks to certain of NextEra Energy's investments; effect of inability of NextEra Energy subsidiaries to pay upstream dividends or repay funds to NextEra Energy or of NextEra Energy's performance under guarantees of subsidiary obligations on NextEra Energy's ability to meet its financial obligations and to pay dividends on its common stock; the fact that the amount and timing of dividends payable on NextEra Energy's common stock, as well as the dividend policy approved by NextEra Energy's board of directors from time to time, and changes to that policy, are within the sole discretion of NextEra Energy's board of directors and, if declared and paid, dividends may be in amounts that are less than might be expected by shareholders; NEP's inability to access sources of capital on commercially reasonable terms could have an effect on its ability to consummate future acquisitions and on the value of NextEra Energy's limited partner interest in NextEra Energy Operating Partners, LP; and effects of disruptions, uncertainty or volatility in the credit and capital markets on the market price of NextEra Energy's common stock. NextEra Energy and FPL discuss these and other risks and uncertainties in their annual report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2015 and other SEC filings, and this news release should be read in conjunction with such SEC filings made through the date of this news release. The forward-looking statements made in this news release are made only as of the date of this news release and NextEra Energy and FPL undertake no obligation to update any forward-looking statements.

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