Utilities, Commercial, Solar  -  October 16, 2019

Walmart settles with FPL on community solar program

Walmart reached a settlement this week with Florida Power and Light confirming their ability to receive RECs from a 1,490 MW community solar program that the utility has in the works.

The superstore currently has 148 stores and four distribution centers powered by FPL. Once operational, the community solar program will be the largest in the U.S. and will feature a focus on providing a direct benefit to low-income households and other customers that may not have the financial means or ability to invest in their own system.

The settlement details the plan to reserve 10% of the portion reserved for residential customers for low-income customers where the subscription fee and bill credits are both fixed costs. A quarter of the solar program is reserved for residential customers, with the remaining going to commercial customers.

The solar program, named SolarTogether, will be installed across 20 new solar power plants across FPL’s service territory and will generate an estimated $249 million in net savings for all FPL customers over the long term. Alongside Walmart, the project is supported by other companies including Sustainable Florida, Broward College, Florida Atlantic University, 7-Eleven, the counties of Brevard, Broward and Miami-Dade and major cities such as Sarasota, Coral Springs and West Palm Beach.

“With over 35 megawatts dedicated to low-income Florida families, FPL’s SolarTogether program now stands to be a true model for the rest of the country,” Katie Chiles Ottenweller, southeast director of Vote Solar, said in a statement. “Solar is a critical tool to help Florida’s low-income families tap into energy savings. This program is an important first step to ensuring all Floridians have access to our state’s growing clean energy economy.”

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