Description:
Orimulsion.
Prior to 1993, few Floridians knew the brand name of an oil substitute that their state's largest electric utility wanted to be the first in the United States to import and burn. Yet the word and its definition would gradually become widely known, making bold headlines and becoming the topic of kitchen table and government forum debates about the advantages and disadvantages of a hybrid power plant fuel often referred to as "liquid coal." Florida Power & Light's pursuit of a state permit to retrofit one of its generating plants to use Orimulsion would become a costly, five-year legal battle that pit public officials against public officials and FPL against an expanding coalition of environmentalists, concerned citizens and corporate interests.
Here is the story of that bitter fuel fight and its surprising aftermath.