Florida Power & Light Company announced the names and locations of four new solar power plants expected to begin powering customers by mid-2019.
The newly announced solar sites are:
- FPL Interstate Solar Energy Center, St. Lucie County
- FPL Miami-Dade Solar Energy Center, Miami-Dade County
- FPL Pioneer Trail Solar Energy Center, Volusia County
- FPL Sunshine Gateway Solar Energy Center, Columbia County
“With the support of communities across the state, we are advancing smart, affordable clean energy infrastructure while keeping customer bills low,” said Eric Silagy, president and CEO of FPL. “These plants are another step forward in our ongoing strategy of making smart investments to better serve our customers now and in the future.”
FPL’s solar expansion plays a significant role in its forward-looking strategy of making smart investments that generate affordable clean energy for customers. FPL has been working for several years to find ways to reduce costs in order to bring more universal solar to its customers cost-effectively. This month, the company implemented a rate decrease, and its typical customer bill is now approximately 30 percent lower than the national average – lower than it was more than 10 years ago.
Each of the new solar plants will have a capacity of 74.5 MW. Combined, they are expected to generate enough energy annually to power approximately 60,000 homes and, over their operational lifetime, produce net savings for FPL customers of $40 million. The net savings are due to several factors including system fuel savings.
Construction is expected to commence later this year. At the height of construction, each of the sites is expected to employ about 200 people, for a total of approximately 800 jobs.
“It’s very exciting to see FPL’s commitment to invest in solar energy with the addition of four new solar energy centers in Florida,” said Jacqui Sulek, chapter conservation manager for Audubon Florida. “Clean energy technology is a great way to meet energy demands while reducing emissions and saving water. We at Audubon look forward to continuing our partnering with FPL on stewardship opportunities that will add value for birds, pollinators and other wildlife.”
FPL plans to expand its innovative “Solar Sanctuary” partnership with Audubon Florida to the new sites. The program is designed to enhance FPL’s solar power plant sites with unprecedented environmental stewardship, providing thousands of acres of habitat for native plants, birds and vital pollinators such as bumblebees and butterflies.
FPL’s solar energy centers are virtually silent, operate autonomously and without water. The panels sit low to the ground, and the layout of each site is unique to minimize impacts to wetlands and surrounding areas.
FPL continues to invest billions of dollars to advance affordable clean energy and enhance the infrastructure that serves its customers. In the past two years alone, FPL built 11 new solar power plants and retired two major coal plants.
“We are proud of our long partnership with FPL,” said Pete Tesch, president of the Economic Development Council of St. Lucie County, home of the future FPL Interstate Solar Energy Center and recently completed FPL Loggerhead Solar Energy Center. “Investing in affordable clean energy infrastructure is one of the many reasons our state is top of mind as best places to live and work. No one understands this better than FPL, and they’ve got the track record to show it.”
News item from FPL
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