Comments on: What’s That Being Built In Molino? It’s Bigger Than You Think

By: Leon

Leon — Sun, 02 Feb 2020 18:51:03 +0000

Does anyone know what’s the name of the construction company doing the hiring for heavy equipment operator jobs.

By: The Safety Viking

The Safety Viking — Fri, 13 Dec 2019 21:08:55 +0000

My background first: I am a Safety Professional. I have worked in renewable energy (onshore & offshore wind, solar, hydroelectric), fossil power (coal, gas/steam turbines), and nuclear power. Transmission/Distribution lines, sub-stations, power house construction…the list goes on & on.

I, too, live in the area and understand the concerns or just the “I wonder…?” questions a lot of you have…

Just a few points…

I speak for me. Not my company.

Yes, this (converting coal ["dirt-burners" in the trade] to gas/steam turbines) has been done at many other locations in the US. I have participated in 4.

There is NO net loss of jobs. Most power plants MUST retain existing positions/recruit new folks; as the manpower needed to operate & maintain any power plant (but solar) is both extensive and specialized.

The figures for ‘temporary jobs’ is probably on the conservative side to be honest. Most of the construction companies involved in this project bring in outsiders as well as local talent. The outsiders will need camper space, hotels, rentals, laundry services, and bars. Lots of bars. Perhaps a local bail bondsman. And restaurants. And convenience stores. Starbucks. etc. Some extra coin is coming in the form of sales, sales tax, and nobody’s favorite but still necessary ’service industry’ jobs that support these businesses. etc.

I welcome any specific questions…

By: Rasheed Jackson

Rasheed Jackson — Fri, 06 Dec 2019 15:35:51 +0000

@ Employee,
Had you asked what wears a tire I would have said the road but you asked, “exactly what plant equipment is coal hard on ?” and I gave you a list but you want to disallow it. What blowers you ask, well for starters how about FD Fans, or ID Fans. Not that they are designed to actually blow coal or coal dust but being in a power house that burns coal one knows the coal dust is every where, and even manages to get in the air duct that houses these fans/blowers so they too are subjected to the wear that is brought on by the abrasive coal. then there is the Primary, Secondary, and Tertiary air system. The fans on these systemOf course I did say Blowers so for clarifications, these are fans use to push or pull air through the boilers, and burners. Then there are the soot blowers, now not to confuse anyone, they do not employ a fan element, they use steam to clean the inside of boilers but they are a high maintenance item that is subjected to the abrasive coal dust. Don’t even get me started on the Precipitator, and ash systems that go along with burning coal. Not enough time or space.

By: Local Lady

Local Lady — Thu, 05 Dec 2019 19:11:33 +0000

@Debbie,
Trust your Lord, and trust the process. I have had it done too and I had to remember to breath at times, but it gets better. This is for the greater good of our Earth as a whole. For generations to come. Please have faith and pray!

By: Sherry

Sherry — Thu, 05 Dec 2019 13:18:18 +0000

I totally understand the incredible frustration over the “imminent domain, gonna take tour land anyway-buck up”. This isn’t 1776, and we didn’t pay $5 for our property. But I accept we can’t win against gulf power. My concern is more than so many commenters seem to think burning coal for power is a GOOD thing. Coal is dirty! Messy, spoils the air and kills miners! What is wrong with folks! You’re concerned about an explosion you may have seen on tv, but we KNOW, in real life land, that coal is majorly destructive to our environment. Florida’s environment is in serious danger already!

By: Some Guy

Some Guy — Thu, 05 Dec 2019 02:13:48 +0000

@ Employee. Sorry to use the term convert loosely. I well understand they got off to the east and built a whole new gas fired plant. The meter station and pipeline come in from the left side of the road just before the gate to the plant. 16” pipe that comes down hey 77 from the north.

By: GasMan

GasMan — Thu, 05 Dec 2019 01:40:34 +0000

Wow Rasheed…well stated. One item you forgot is the hours required to unload the coal from a barge via crane. Pile it up, push the pile around…

Another shocking statistic in how inefficient a coal plant is. About 60% of the power they make is consumed by the plant itself. Gas plants are about 50% efficient.

By: Jo bob

Jo bob — Thu, 05 Dec 2019 01:10:55 +0000

Mcdavid and Debbie. You can fight all you want but at the end of the day, their lawyer makes more and you’ll get stiffed and they’ll take it from you. There’s so many things you don’t know about that are around the corner that are so much worse and have a blast radius of 100 times bigger but you’re not complaining about that.

By: Tom

Tom — Thu, 05 Dec 2019 00:39:13 +0000

375 temporary jobs wow, how about all the permanent jobs that will be lost at the crist plant due to this conversion???

By: Employee

Employee — Thu, 05 Dec 2019 00:19:42 +0000

@ Rasheed Jackson, that’s like saying pavement is bad for tires because it wears them out. The pulverizers was designed to grind coal and metal that gets by the magnetic separator destroys them way before the coal that is being fed into them. As far as blowers, what blowers ?