Okeechobee County Crane Prep for Plant, Dairy and Lake Work

The gas plant in the northeast corner

Florida regulators approved FPL's Okeechobee Clean Energy Center in 2016 as a combined cycle natural gas plant of roughly 1,600 megawatts, with light oil as backup fuel. FPL estimated the cost at about $1.3 billion and planned an in-service date of June 2019. The power block takes up about 189 acres, and the rest of the property was set aside for wetland mitigation, possible solar and open space.

Combined cycle plants run gas turbines, heat recovery steam generators and a steam turbine, and each needs periodic outages. Turbine and generator component moves, valve and pump replacements and work inside tight equipment bays are jobs for experienced operators and Rigger Level 2 qualified riggers.

Dairies, feed mills and ranch work

Agriculture uses more cranes than most people think. Feed bins and silos, milking barn steel, irrigation pumps, generators and large tanks all get set with a crane. Much of this is done with boom trucks and knuckle-boom trucks that the farm or a local contractor owns. If that crane is used for construction, such as erecting a new barn frame, Subpart CC certification rules apply, even on a farm.

Around the lake

The Army Corps of Engineers rebuilt the Herbert Hoover Dike that rings Lake Okeechobee, a project begun in the 2000s and marked substantially complete in January 2023, years ahead of the earlier schedule. Work included replacing water control structures around the lake. With the main rehabilitation done, lake-related work now looks more like maintenance and smaller structure projects, which still need cranes on levee crowns and soft ground near canals.

Ground and weather on the north shore

Much of the county is low, flat pasture with sandy soil over a high water table, and in the rainy season low spots stay wet for weeks. Shell rock or limerock pads around barns and plant equipment can look solid and still settle under a loaded outrigger. Mats and a pad check before each setup are cheap insurance.

Open land also means wind. Gusts arrive with afternoon thunderstorms, often without much warning, so large or light loads like sheet metal and roof panels need a firm wind limit agreed before the pick.

One crew, many tickets

Florida has no state crane license; federal OSHA's rules apply. See the requirements guide. For the city of Okeechobee, see our Okeechobee city page.

• Mobile crane operator for plant and construction work
• Articulating crane operator for knuckle-boom trucks on farms and deliveries
• Signal person so the ground crew can direct lifts
• Rigger Level 2 for complex picks during plant outages