Industrial, Solar, Sourcing Renewables  -  February 18, 2016

FPL's 3 new power plants triple utility's solar capacity

Florida Power and Light broke ground Feb. 11 on three new solar projects that will each have 74.5 MW of capacity. The installations will be online by the end of 2016, and will triple the company's current solar capacity, which currently totals approximately 110 MW, the company said in a news release. 

Buying solar panels in such a large quantity reportedly allowed FPL to realize significant savings for customers.

Here are specific details on each new solar installation:

• The FPL Manatee Solar Energy Center will consist of more than 338,000 solar panels over 762 acres
• FPL Citrus Solar Energy Center is being built on 841 acres in DeSoto County, Fla., near the site of FPL's first large-scale solar power plant
• FPL Babcock Ranch Solar Energy Center is now under construction on 440 acres in Charlotte County, Fla., as part of the new Babcock Ranch sustainable community

"This is a big step forward for our state and for the future of renewable energy in Florida," said Eric Draper, executive director of Audubon Florida said in FPL's news release. "FPL's three solar plants help reduce the use of fossil fuels, prevent the emission of thousands of tons of carbon each year and save millions of gallons of water." 

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