JEA Locks Jacksonville Into $1.57 Billion Gas Plant, Ignoring Cheaper, Cleaner Options

JACKSONVILLE, Fla.-The Jacksonville Electric Authority (JEA) Board voted 6-0 to approve a $1.57 billion fossil fuel facility at the site of the former St. Johns River Power Park. The plant, which won't come online until 2031 or later, will saddle Jacksonville residents with decades of higher bills and continued reliance on polluting natural gas.

"This decision doubles down on Jacksonville's past instead of investing in a sustainable future for our city, neighbors, and children," said Suzanne Sapp, Sierra Club Senior Campaign Organizer. "At a time when cities across the country are proving solar and storage can deliver affordable, reliable power, JEA is locking us into 30 years of higher bills and climate pollution."

Key Concerns:

• Soaring Costs for Ratepayers- The new plant's estimated price tag has tripled in just five years, from $553 million in 2019 to $1.57 billion today. JEA officials confirmed rate hikes are inevitable to pay for it.
  
• Locking in Fossil Fuels- Despite promises of efficiency by JEA, the facility will rely on fracked gas, a volatile and climate-damaging fuel. It locks Jacksonville into fossil energy through at least the 2060s.
  
• Missed Opportunity on Renewables- While neighboring utilities expand solar and storage at record pace, JEA rejected clean energy solutions and exaggerated barriers like weather and land use. Meanwhile, its token plan for 200 MW of solar and 100 MW of storage by 2026 pales in comparison to this massive gas buildout.
  
• Rejecting Alternatives- The JEA Board dismissed a lower-cost power purchase agreement with Florida Power and Light, citing storm risks, while ignoring the bigger risks of fossil fuel volatility, climate impacts, and stranded asset costs.
  
• Community Burden- Jacksonville families will pay the price in higher rates, while continuing to live with the pollution, economic risks, and climate harms of outdated fossil infrastructure.

Advocates call on city leaders, including Mayor Donna Deegan, to step in and demand JEA reconsider this fossil fuel gamble and prioritize clean, affordable, renewable energy.

About the Sierra Club

The Sierra Club is America's largest and most influential grassroots environmental organization, with millions of members and supporters. In addition to protecting every person's right to get outdoors and access the healing power of nature, the Sierra Club works to promote clean energy, safeguard the health of our communities, protect wildlife, and preserve our remaining wild places through grassroots activism, public education, lobbying, and legal action. For more information, visit https://www.sierraclub.org.