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The closed design of the new system increases reliability and lowers maintenance costs.
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It also has a smaller footprint than traditional outdoor substations.
NS. PETERSBURG, Florida – Duke Energy Florida opened its new, state-of-the-art Bayboro substation on Monday to meet the electricity needs of downtown St. Petersburg.
The electrical substation is known as a gas-insulated switchgear (GIS). It is the first in Florida to be built by Duke Energy and commissioned on November 29th.
Substations play a key role in the complex process of bringing electricity generated in distant power plants to customers’ homes, businesses, schools and other buildings. Substations change the electrical voltage, make it usable for customers and also fulfill a number of other important functions.
The vast majority of substations are built outdoors – not covered – and occasionally expose the electrical equipment of the systems to extreme weather conditions such as lightning, hurricanes and water surges during large storms.
But the closed, raised interior structure of the Bayboro substation protects electrical equipment from such weather conditions. The new facility will withstand winds of 250 miles per hour and will serve St. Petersburg’s innovation district more reliably.
Overall, maintenance costs decrease while reliability increases.
“We work hard on behalf of our customers to ensure safe, reliable, and clean energy,” said Melissa Seixas, president of Duke Energy Florida. “We use innovative technologies in our entire service area in Florida to modernize the energy network and increase the resilience and energy efficiency for our customers.”
The GIS substation was also built to protect the environment, with a feature to detect potential leakages and prevent environmental impacts.
In addition, the total floor area is approx. 35% smaller than that of the previous neighboring substation.
The substation supports critical infrastructures, including the University of South Florida’s St. Petersburg campus, All Children’s Johns Hopkins and Bayfront hospitals, Tropicana Field, and numerous buildings and skyscrapers.
With increased redundancies to reduce outages, the newly built substation will meet the increasing demand for electricity in this rapidly growing community and improve reliability for downtown St. Petersburg and the surrounding area.
Click here for video edited by GIS Substation, additional B-roll and soundbites
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Renewable energy
Duke Energy Florida is also fulfilling its commitment to renewable energy in downtown St. Petersburg.
With a $ 1 million grant from Duke Energy, the University of South Florida St. Petersburg built a 100-kilowatt solar array – plus a 250-kilowatt battery system – on a campus parking deck. The battery system stores and manages the electricity generated by the 7,100 square meter solar system.
There is also a Duke Energy solar roof over the parking lot at St. Pete Pier with adjacent EV chargers.
In addition, construction of a 3.5 megawatt solar and storage microgrid site is underway and will be added to the John Hopkins Middle School in Pinellas County. The microgrid will support grid operations and provide the school with power if it has to act as an emergency shelter for hurricane evacuations. The microgrid consists of a 1-megawatt solar park roof and a 2.5-megawatt battery as well as controls that store and provide clean, renewable energy for the school and the grid. The project improves electrical service and network operations for customers.
Duke Energy Florida has also installed nearly 300 EV chargers across Pinellas County as part of the company’s park-and-plug program. The chargers are conveniently located across the county, including the Duke Energy Center for the Arts-Mahaffey Theater and the USFSP campus.
Duke Energy Florida
Duke Energy Florida, a subsidiary of Duke Energy, has a diverse generation mix of natural gas, coal and renewable energies and supplies approximately 1.9 million customers in a 13,000 square mile supply area with approximately 10,200 megawatts of own electrical power.
Duke Energy (NYSE: DUK), a Fortune 150 company headquartered in Charlotte, NC, is one of the largest energy holding companies in the United States. Its electricity suppliers serve 7.9 million customers in North Carolina, South Carolina, Florida, Indiana, Ohio and Kentucky and together have 51,000 megawatts of energy capacity. Its natural gas unit serves 1.6 million customers in North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, Ohio and Kentucky. The company employs 27,500 people.
Duke Energy is implementing an aggressive clean energy strategy to create a smarter energy future for its customers and communities, aiming to reduce carbon emissions by at least 50 percent by 2030 and net zero carbon emissions by 2050. The company is a leading US renewable energy company on track to own or buy 16,000 megawatts of renewable energy capacity by 2025. The company is also investing in major grid upgrades and expanded battery storage, and researching zero-emission power generation technologies such as hydrogen and advanced nuclear power.
Duke Energy was named one of Fortune’s 2021 World’s Most Admired Companies and Forbes’ America’s Best Employers list. Further information is available at duke-energy.com. The Duke Energy News Center contains press releases, datasheets, photos and videos. Duke Energy lighting features stories about people, innovations, community and environmental issues. Follow Duke Energy on Twitter, LinkedIn, Instagram and Facebook.
Media contact: Ana Gibbs
Cell phone: 813.928.7263
Media line: 800.559.3853
from Daily Florida Press https://dailyfloridapress.com/duke-energy-florida-builds-innovative-more-resilient-and-environmentally-friendly-substation-duke-of-energy/
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