WEST COUNTY ENERGY CENTER
OperatingNatural Gas power plant
- Capacity
- 4,263 MW
- Primary fuel
- Natural Gas
- County
- Palm Beach County
- Operator
- FLORIDA POWER & LIGHT CO
- Status
- Operating
- Commissioned
- 2009
- EIA plant ID
- 56407
- Generators
- 12
- Technology
- Natural Gas Fired Combined Cycle
- Net generation (2024)
- 19,815 GWh
- Capacity factor (2024, EIA nameplate)
- 53%
- Data vintage
- EIA-860 2024 final; EIA-923 2022-2024 final
- Coordinates
- 26.6996, -80.3753
WEST COUNTY ENERGY CENTER, a 4,263 MW Natural Gas power plant in Palm Beach County, Florida. Operated by FLORIDA POWER & LIGHT CO, commissioned 2009.
How WEST COUNTY ENERGY CENTER compares
With 4,263 MW of capacity, WEST COUNTY ENERGY CENTER ranks 2nd among the 110 operating power plants Bywatts maps in Florida and 2nd of the 55 operating Natural Gas plants in the state. It accounts for about 9.5% of Florida's operating Natural Gas capacity and 6.7% of all operating capacity in the state. Nationally it is the 2nd-largest of the 1,185 operating Natural Gas plants in the database. Commissioned in 2009, it is newer than 80% of the 108 operating Florida plants with a recorded commissioning year. Its operator, FLORIDA POWER & LIGHT CO, runs 13 operating plants in Florida totaling 25,806 MW. It shares Palm Beach County with 5 other operating plants, including OKEELANTA COGENERATION and TOM G SMITH.
EIA-860 lists 12 generators at the site with 4,263 MW of nameplate capacity, all natural gas fired combined cycle technology. Net generation was 19,815 GWh in 2024 (a 53% capacity factor), up 1% from 2022. Its generators came online between 2009 and 2011.
Grid neighborhood
The closest transmission line found within 10 miles is a 230 kV line owned by FLORIDA POWER & LIGHT CO, about 0.1 miles away. Another 3 operating power plants totaling 290 MW sit within 25 miles; the largest is OKEELANTA COGENERATION (129 MW, Biomass). Within 50 miles are 3 mapped data centers; the nearest is Equinix MI3 - Miami, Boca Raton in Boca Raton, about 27.1 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
WEST COUNTY ENERGY CENTER is a 4,263 MW natural gas power plant in Palm Beach County, FL, operated by FLORIDA POWER & LIGHT CO, commissioned in 2009. 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 natural gas 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.