PALM BEACH RENEWABLE ENERGY FACILITY#1
OperatingBiomass power plant
- Capacity
- 62 MW
- Primary fuel
- Biomass
- County
- Palm Beach County
- Operator
- SOLID WASTE AUTH OF PALM BEACH
- Status
- Operating
- Commissioned
- 1989
- EIA plant ID
- 50071
- Generators
- 1
- Technology
- Municipal Solid Waste
- Net generation (2024)
- 312 GWh
- Capacity factor (2024, EIA nameplate)
- 57%
- Data vintage
- EIA-860 2024 final; EIA-923 2022-2024 final
- Coordinates
- 26.7696, -80.1411
PALM BEACH RENEWABLE ENERGY FACILITY#1, a 62 MW Biomass power plant in Palm Beach County, Florida. One of 170 power plants tracked in Florida on Bywatts.
How PALM BEACH RENEWABLE ENERGY FACILITY#1 compares
With 62 MW of capacity, PALM BEACH RENEWABLE ENERGY FACILITY#1 ranks 65th among the 110 operating power plants Bywatts maps in Florida and 8th of the 21 operating Biomass plants in the state. It accounts for about 6.5% of Florida's operating Biomass capacity and under 0.1% of all operating capacity in the state. Nationally it is the 56th-largest of the 350 operating Biomass plants in the database. Commissioned in 1989, it is older than 52% of the 108 operating Florida plants with a recorded commissioning year. Its operator, SOLID WASTE AUTH OF PALM BEACH, runs 2 operating plants in Florida totaling 62 MW. It shares Palm Beach County with 5 other operating plants, including WEST COUNTY ENERGY CENTER and OKEELANTA COGENERATION.
EIA-860 lists 1 generator at the site with 62 MW of nameplate capacity, all municipal solid waste technology. Net generation was 312 GWh in 2024 (a 57% capacity factor), down 2% from 2022.
Grid neighborhood
The closest transmission line found within 10 miles is a 138 kV line owned by FLORIDA POWER & LIGHT CO, under 0.1 miles away. Another 2 operating power plants totaling 4,362 MW sit within 25 miles; the largest is WEST COUNTY ENERGY CENTER (4,263 MW, Natural Gas). Within 50 miles are 3 mapped data centers; the nearest is Equinix MI3 - Miami, Boca Raton in Boca Raton, about 26.4 miles away.
Computed by Bywatts from HIFLD power plant and transmission line records, EIA-860/923 survey data and PeeringDB data center locations; distances are straight-line. Sources and methodology
Weather peril exposure
PALM BEACH RENEWABLE ENERGY FACILITY#1 is a 62 MW biomass power plant in Palm Beach County, FL, operated by SOLID WASTE AUTH OF PALM BEACH, commissioned in 1989. Palm Beach County carries elevated modeled catastrophe exposure in the FEMA National Risk Index, scoring 3.3 of 5 at the 58th national percentile. Hurricane is the leading peril, rated Very High by FEMA at the 94th percentile.
The Bywatts loss layer is calibrated to solar PV hardware, so it is not applied to a biomass plant. The ratings below are the FEMA National Risk Index county hazard ratings for this location.
Palm Beach County hazard ratings
| Peril | FEMA rating | National percentile | Peril score | Events per year |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hurricane | Very High | 94th | 4.7 of 5 | 0.33 |
| Lightning | Very High | 93rd | 4.7 of 5 | 96.3 |
| Wildfire | Relatively Moderate | 77th | 4.1 of 5 | <0.01 |
| Coastal flooding | Relatively High | 51st | 3.1 of 5 | 2.9 |
| Heat wave | Relatively High | 27th | 2.1 of 5 | 4.7 |
| Tornado | Relatively High | 24th | 2.0 of 5 | 1.5 |
| Riverine flooding | Relatively High | 24th | 2.0 of 5 | 2.1 |
| Strong wind | Relatively High | 6th | 1.2 of 5 | 0.98 |
| Hail | Relatively Low | 3rd | 1.1 of 5 | 0.96 |
| Earthquake | Very Low | 2nd | 1.1 of 5 | <0.01 |
Perils not assessed in Palm Beach County
These perils carry no usable National Risk Index figure for this county, so they are excluded from the scoring rather than scored zero. A zero would claim the peril was assessed and found benign.
| Peril | Why it is not scored |
|---|---|
| Winter weather | FEMA rating is "No Rating" for this county |
| Ice storm | FEMA rating is "Not Applicable" for this county |
Model hail, wind and flood exposure for Palm Beach County in the weather risk calculator
Ratings are the FEMA National Risk Index county hazard ratings; the peril score is a Bywatts transform of the FEMA national percentile. Full data sources and the solar vulnerability methodology are in the weather risk calculator.
Modeled estimate for screening and negotiation. Built from FEMA National Risk Index county hazard data and a solar vulnerability layer documented above. Not a quote, a binder, or actuarial advice, and not a substitute for a carrier's own model. Hazard data: FEMA National Risk Index December 2025, synced 2026-07-24. Resolution is county level, not site level.