The Orlando Utilities Commission is moving forward with a nearly $100 million dollar proposal to purchase a natural gas-fired power plant in Osceola County.
The move is part of OUC’s strategy to retire its two coal plants and transition to 100% clean energy by midcentury.
The board’s approval allows OUC to enter into negotiations with Genova, the private Texas-based owner of the Osceola Generating Station.
The 20-year-old idle power plant is located near St. Cloud. The negotiations are expected to last through the end of the year, with the plant potentially operational in a few years.
OUC says the purchase would help the utility to boost its solar production and also retire its oldest coal-fired plant, rather than transitioning it to natural gas before shuttering it.
The utility aims to discontinue all coal-fired power generation by 2027.
OUC is the state’s second-largest municipal utility, serving some 250,000 customers in Orange and Osceola counties.
