NextEra Energy honored with Visionary Award for Innovation in Shared Value

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May 10, 2018, 03:07 ET

JUNO BEACH, Fla., May 10, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- NextEra Energy, Inc. (NYSE: NEE) has been recognized with the Visionary Award for Innovation in Shared Value from the WomenCorporateDirectors Foundation. The WomenCorporateDirectors Foundation is the only global membership organization and community of women corporate directors.

"We're pleased to be recognized with this prestigious award from the WomenCorporateDirectors Foundation," said Jim Robo, NextEra Energy chairman and CEO. "Being innovative and having a strong commitment to continuous improvement is at the heart of who we are as a company. From state-of-the-art renewable energy solutions and leading-edge battery storage systems to smart grid technology, we're making significant investments in innovative, advanced technologies to do what's right on behalf of our customers, our stakeholders and our shareholders. Importantly, it's our people and their passion for excellence that differentiates us from others in our industry, and I've long held the belief that our people are our greatest asset."

"We applaud NextEra Energy not only for its steadfast focus to identify and implement innovative, industry-leading solutions to improve reliability and lower costs for customers, but also for its commitment to embrace diversity at all levels within the organization and promote high standards in corporate governance," said Susan C. Keating, CEO of WomenCorporateDirectors.

NextEra Energy, whose principal subsidiaries are Florida Power & Light Company (FPL) and NextEra Energy Resources, LLC, also was named one of the top 20 companies in the world for innovation by Fortune in 2018. Some examples of the company's commitment to innovation include:

Delivering clean energy across North America – NextEra Energy Resources, together with its affiliated entities, is the world's largest generator of renewable energy from the wind and sun. The company was a pioneer in the field, making its first investment in renewable energy nearly 30 years ago. Today, the company's renewable development opportunities have never been stronger.

Harnessing the power of battery storage – As the world's current leader in wind, solar and storage development, NextEra Energy is uniquely positioned for the next phase of renewables deployment that pairs low-cost wind and solar energy with a low-cost battery storage solution that can be dispatched with enough certainty to meet customer need for firm generation.

NextEra Energy Resources recently brought online a 20-MW solar array with a 10-MW battery storage system at the Pinal Central Energy Center south of Phoenix, Arizona. FPL recently installed the country's largest combined solar-plus-storage project currently in operation in the U.S. – a 10-MW battery project with 40 MW-hours of storage capacity at the Babcock Ranch Solar Energy Center in Charlotte County, Florida.

Building a stronger, smarter energy grid – Since 2006, FPL has invested more than $3 billion to build a stronger, smarter energy grid customers can count on in good weather and bad. As part of those investments, FPL has installed more than five million smart meters and more than 90,000 other intelligent devices across its service area to help monitor and manage the electric system, detect and prevent power issues, and get life back to normal faster when outages do occur.

Getting a unique perspective – FPL's fleet of drones helps the team inspect the day-to-day health of the energy grid, as well as speed restoration efforts following severe weather and hurricanes. Drones are a safe, cost-effective alternative that give the company greater visibility in inaccessible locations and provide crews with timely and accurate damage assessments.

Focusing on future technology – NextEra Energy is experimenting with augmented reality and how it could help provide employees with important information about equipment in real-time. Augmented reality is a live or indirect view of a physical environment with additional information virtually added to augment the viewer's perception. These smart interfaces could be used to help keep employees safe, mitigate accessibility issues with hard-to-reach equipment or easily provide repair instructions without the need for paper documents or manuals.

The WomenCorporateDirectors Foundation's Visionary Award for Innovation in Shared Value is the latest recognition for NextEra Energy. Earlier this month, the company was named one of America's Best Employers by Forbes. Also this year, NextEra Energy was named No. 1 in its sector to Fortune's list of "Most Admired Companies" for the 11th time in 12 years and ranked among the top 20 companies worldwide for innovation, people management, use of corporate assets, social responsibility and long-term investment value. NextEra Energy was also recognized by Ethisphere Institute as one of its 2018 World's Most Ethical Companies, becoming one of only 20 companies in the world to have achieved this honor 11 or more times.

WomenCorporateDirectors (WCD) is the world's largest membership organization and community of women corporate board directors. A 501(c)(3) foundation, WCD is a trusted community of directors serving on more than 8,500 public and private boards around the world. WCD supports its thousands of global members in connecting with peers and advancing visionary corporate governance. Through events, publications, and tools addressing the latest news and trends in business and governance, WCD inspires and educates board leaders – and raises the bar for board service in public and large private companies globally. Over the past 17 years, WCD has been instrumental in training women for board service, providing board opportunities, and facilitating introductions to nominating committee chairs around the world. The result has been the placement of over 500 women on corporate boards, private boards, and advisory boards.

NextEra Energy, Inc.
NextEra Energy, Inc. (NYSE: NEE) is a leading clean energy company with consolidated revenues of approximately $17.2 billion, operates approximately 46,790 megawatts of net generating capacity and employs approximately 14,000 people in 33 states and Canada as of year-end 2017. Headquartered in Juno Beach, Florida, NextEra Energy's principal subsidiaries are Florida Power & Light Company, which serves approximately 5 million customer accounts in Florida and is one of the largest rate-regulated electric utilities in the United States, and NextEra Energy Resources, LLC, which, together with its affiliated entities, is the world's largest generator of renewable energy from the wind and sun. Through its subsidiaries, NextEra Energy generates clean, emissions-free electricity from eight commercial nuclear power units in Florida, New Hampshire, Iowa and Wisconsin. A Fortune 200 company and included in the S&P 100 index, NextEra Energy has been recognized often by third parties for its efforts in sustainability, corporate responsibility, ethics and compliance, and diversity, and has been ranked No. 1 in the electric and gas utilities industry in Fortune's 2018 list of "World's Most Admired Companies." For more information about NextEra Energy companies, visit these websites: www.NextEraEnergy.com, www.FPL.com, www.NextEraEnergyResources.com.