Florida Power & Light, the state’s largest solar power generator, announced Thursday the installation of its 500,000th solar panel, part of a plan to bring three new solar energy centers online this year. The DRECP pertains to 22.5 million acres across seven California counties, which is held up by experts as one of the most important renewable energy resources in the United States, with nearly-unparalleled solar radiance and wind energy resources, within close proximity to major population centers. Each will provide 74.5 MW of generating capacity.
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“Laid end to end, the 1 million solar panels would just about wrap around the entire coastline of Florida, or put another way, would extend from Florida to Chicago”, he added.
“Today, we’re halfway there”.
“We are proud of the investments we’re making in Florida’s solar development”, said Alex Glenn, Duke Energy state president – Florida.
School representatives, local students, elected officials, and community leaders, will join Duke Energy at a commemorative ribbon cutting and solar panel signing ceremony October 19 to celebrate the opening.
FPL now operates 110 megawatts of large-scale universal solar at three sites in Florida, in addition to numerous smaller installations across the state.
Duke Energy Florida’s Osceola Solar Facility began operating in May, providing almost 4 megawatts of solar energy through 15,000 panels. “That’s why we continue to make smart investments that improve the efficiency of our system, reduce fuel consumption, prevent emissions and cut costs for our customers for the long term”.
As a bonus, FPL says its typical residential customer bills are about 30 percent lower than the national average.
“The DRECP has simply failed to adapt to enormous changes in law and policy that mandate a significant and urgent increase in renewable energy development on public lands and elsewhere”, said Shannon Eddy, Executive Director of LSA.
Non-profit Edmonton-based social enterprise Iron & Earth, led by ex-oilsands workers, was established in 2015 to help oil and gas workers re-focus their skills on clean energy projects, offering new employment and training opportunities in a sector that’s on the rise, as an alternative to simply waiting for a rebound in the oil and gas sector which may or may not ever happen.
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In addition, FPL has installed small-scale solar arrays for more than 100 Florida schools and other educational facilities.
