What happens when a blackout hits the Florida Keys? They have to do what grid operators call a black start. I recently visited the Keys Energy Generating Facility on Stock Island to see how they do it.

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As you’ll see in this five-minute mini-documentary, they start with a 2-megawatt diesel-fired engine and gradually add more capacity until they can fire up their large gas turbines. In all, the facility has 105 MW of capacity, all of which runs on diesel fuel. The power plant is owned by the Florida Municipal Power Agency and is operated by Keys Energy Services, a municipal utility which provides electricity to Key West and the lower Florida Keys. I love seeing big iron. I particularly like visiting power plants and seeing how they work. Many thanks to my good friend at FMPA, Jacob Williams, and to Lynne Tejada and Robbie Berger at Keys Energy for coordinating my visit.

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