Page 9 - Florida Sentinel 5-29-18

Local
TECO Closing Big Bend Unit Where 5 Workers Died
BY IRIS B. HOLTON Sentinel City Editor
Last week, Tampa Elec- tric announced that signifi- cant changes would be made at their Big Bend Power Sta- tion. Those changes include Modernizing Unit 1, after 50 years of operation, and will use natural gas combined- cycle technology, which will eliminate coal as this unit’s fuel and Retiring Unit 2 in 2021, after 48 years of oper- ation.
Unit 2 was the location where five people died nearly a year ago. The closure is ex- pected in 2021.
The project will reuse ex- isting equipment, including the cooling system, which will continue to produce the warm water that attracts manatees to the power sta- tion’s discharge canal each winter.
The $853 million Big Bend project will repower Big Bend Unit 1 with state-of-
CHRISTOPHER IRVIN ... died at the scene
the-art combined-cycle tech- nology. When complete in 2023, the project will be ca- pable of producing 1,090 MW in a two-on-one format. The units were originally de- signed to burn coal, and in recent years, natural gas was added as a secondary fuel to all four units. As part of this investment, Big Bend Unit 2 will be retired in 2021.
On April 18, Tampa Elec- tric filed a Site Certification Application with the Depart- ment of Environmental Pro-
ANTONIO NAVARRETE ... died July 5, 2017
tection to approve the mod- ernization of Big Bend Unit 1. Approval is expected in May 2019.
The company also plans to dramatically increase the amount of solar power in the generating fleet. During the next three years, Tampa Electric will add 6 million solar panels in 10 new photo- voltaic solar projects, making us the Florida utility with the highest percentage of solar power by 2021.
Accident Leaves 5 Dead
FRANKIE LEE JONES ... died July 15, 2017
The accident that left five men dead took place on June 29, 2017.
All of the men were burned while attempting to unclog a tank that contained slag, a bi-product of the coal used to create electricity. The slag has been compared to volcanic lava and reaches temperatures of 1,000 de- grees.
One of the men was em- ployed by TECO and the oth- ers were employees of BRACE and Gaffin Indus-
ARMANDO PEREZ ... died July 20, 2017
tries.
TECO Engineer Michael
McCort, 60, and Gaffin In- dustries Crew Supervisor Christopher Irvin, 40, died at the scene. Antonio Navarrete, 21, of Wimauma, and Frankie Lee Jones, 55, of Tampa, succumbed to their injuries on July 5th and July 15th, re- spectively. Armando J. Perez, 56, of Wimauma, died on July 20th.
Others injured in the blast recovered from their injuries.
TUESDAY, MAY 29, 2018 FLORIDA SENTINEL BULLETIN PUBLISHED EVERY TUESDAY AND FRIDAY PAGE 9