Regulators have approved a renewable energy contract for Progress Energy Florida.
The Florida Public Service Commission gave the go-ahead Tuesday for the deal with U.S. EcoGen Polk LLC.
Progress will purchase 60 megawatts of power from a planned EcoGen biomass plant in Polk County. That's enough power for about 10,000 homes.
The plant will burn waste wood and possibly grow crops for additional fuel in the future.
The project is expected to provide temporary jobs for 300 construction workers and permanent work for 35 plant operators.
North Carolina-based Progress Energy is a unit of Progress Energy Inc. and serves 1.6 million homes, businesses and other customers in central and north Florida.
