Gulf Power Company News

For immediate release – Aug. 2, 2013

Gulf Power Company’s site certification program took a giant step forward this week when consultants visited 14 sites in six Northwest Florida counties to evaluate whether the sites are good candidates to be certified for industrial development.

Gulf Power kicked off the program earlier this year, partnering with the site consultant firm of McCallum Sweeney to identify public and private lands that could be prepared ahead of time for the location of new or expanding companies. The consulting firm evaluates the properties, identifies improvements that must be made and then certifies the sites once they have met all the program requirements.

“The program is moving forward, right on schedule with the site visits,” said John Hutchinson, Gulf Power’s Director of Public Affairs and Economic Development. “Getting out and kicking the dirt gives the consultants the opportunity to identify which sites are best suited to be certified.”

• Three sites were visited in Okaloosa and Walton counties, including land at the Okaloosa Industrial Land Park, the Walton County Industrial Park and the DeFuniak Springs Municipal Airport.
• Five sites were visited in Bay and Jackson counties, including land at Venture Crossings, the Panama City Port Authority intermodal site, the Marianna Airport Industrial Park, the Marianna/Jackson County Distribution Park and the Spanish Trail/Malloy industrial site.  
• Six sites were visited in Escambia and Santa Rosa counties, including land at the Pensacola International Airport, Whiting Field and four sites in or near the Santa Rosa Industrial Park in east Milton.

McCallum Sweeney will evaluate the data collected during the site visits and report back to landowners in September whether or not their sites are candidates for certification and what additional requirements must be met. Once a site is evaluated and selected to move forward, site owners will have up to a year to complete the program requirements. Gulf Power is paying half the consultant charges for publicly owned sites with private landowners paying the full amount.

The Gulf Power program is the first of its kind in Florida. Once a site is certified it becomes much more attractive to prospective businesses and having certified sites allows Northwest Florida to be more competitive with neighboring states.

“Alabama, Georgia and Mississippi all have certified sites — as well as other states,” Hutchinson said. “If we are going to compete for new jobs, we have to have sites that are ready to go with infrastructure plans and permits in place and sites that are located near transportation corridors.”

Once certified, the sites will be marketed by local, regional and state economic development agencies to prospective companies to bring new jobs to Northwest Florida.

Gulf Power Company is an investor-owned electric utility with all of its common stock owned by Atlanta-based Southern Company. Gulf Power serves more than 430,000 customers in eight counties throughout Northwest Florida. The company’s mission is to safely provide exceptional customer value by delivering reliable, affordable and environmentally responsible electricity while strengthening our communities. Visit online at GulfPower.com or on the company’s Facebook page, “Gulf Power Company.”

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