The FPL Group (NYSE:FPL) is creating a hybrid natural gas and solar power plant to help mitigate the renewable energy issues of comparatively high costs and intermittent energy production.

In West Palm Beach, Florida, the FPL Group is currently constructing the US$476 million Martin Next Generation Solar Energy Center.  When complete this solar thermal array will be the second largest in the world. 

Yet, this is not the only newsworthy not about the solar array, it will also be connected to the United States' largest fossil fuel plant.  The power plant will now produce energy from solar and natural gas sources.

The FPL Group says there are numerous advantages to linking both energy sources including creating greater power capacity, reducing carbon dioxide emissions, and reducing the cost of solar power.  The company estimates that it will save 20% in costs compared to building a stand-alone solar power plant, because it does not have to build a new steam turbine or high-power transmission lines.

Furthermore, the FPL Group says it will reduce its natural gas use by 1.3 billion cubic feet each year -- the average consumption of 18,000 homes.  Additionally, it will cut carbon dioxide emissions by 2.75 million tons over 30 years, the equivalent of taking 19,000 cars off the road.

Lewis Hay III, FPL's chariman and CEO said, "We'd love to tell you that solar power is as economic as fossil fuels, but the reality is that it is not.  We have to figure out ways to get costs down."

Read the full story at the New York Times:  FPL Experiments With Solar Thermal at Gas-Fired Power Plant

Image courtesy of the FPL Group