Duke Energy announced Wednesday it has dropped plans to build a $180 million, 640-megawatt plant northwest of State Road 44 and County Road 437.

The project has been in limbo since last year, when the North Carolina-based company withdrew its county zoning request after staff recommended denial. Although it was perceived as abandoned, Duke maintained it would resubmit the project.

Brandon Maxwell, Duke public affairs specialist, said the move was triggered by business issues, not public outcry.

"We are no longer pursuing Lake County because the energy sector is cyclical, and with economics being what they are, it [Lake] is not an option," Maxwell said. "Current state legislation also limits what type of generating facilities can be built in Florida."

The plant was going to use 116,000 gallons of water per day, according to the St. Johns River Water Management District. The water use, noise and exhaust stacks as high as 93 feet were among the reasons county staffrecommended denial.

The owners of the plant would have sold the power to other utility companies to use. Members of the Citizens Against Merchant Power, the leading opponents of the plant, said their aggressiveness was a factor in the project's demise, along with economics.

"If and when Duke brought it [the zoning request] back, it was known 300 to 400 people would be looking over the county's shoulder," said Scott Taylor, a CAMP member and east Lake resident. "We had a great deal to do with them not dropping an industrial site in the middle of a rural area and changing the way of life."

Developers of nearby projects such as Sorrento Hills, across from the site, had also expressed opposition. But crucial was the Legislature's failure to pass a bill that would have allowed wholesale electric providers called "merchants" to build plants that use natural gas. That stopped both Duke's project and Panda Energy's proposed $200 million, 1,000-megawatt Leesburg plant.

Harold Green, a spokesman for Panda, said the company remains interested in Florida and hopes legislators move toward deregulation. He said the company allowed its lease on the land to expire earlier this year.

Taylor and others want the county to consider buying the 360-acre Heidrich property where the Duke plant was proposed for a regional park. This, they hope, would protect it from similar ventures.

County Commissioner Catherine Hanson, who represents the area, said she also supports a park.