Florida agencies plan 450-MW expansion for municipal solar project

The Florida Municipal Power Agency (FMPA), in partnership with 20 Florida municipal power plants and Origis Energy, plans to expand the Florida Municipal Solar Project, one of the largest municipal solar projects in the nation. Upon completion, the expansion will quadruple the amount of solar energy currently produced by the project.

The Florida Municipal Energy Agency announces the expansion of the Florida Municipal Solar Project.

The project currently consists of two solar farms, Taylor Creek Solar in Orange County and Harmony Solar in Osceola County, which generate about 150 MW of solar energy, enough to power about 30,000 Florida homes.

There will be two stages of expansion. Phase 2 will include the addition of two more solar farms: Rice Creek Solar in Putnam County and Whistling Duck Solar in Levy County. Rice Creek Solar is expected to be completed by the end of this year, and Whistling Duck Solar is slated for completion in 2024. When both new sites are online, they will generate about 150 MW of solar power.

Phase 3 of the project will bring four more solar farms online, doubling the size of the project from four to eight sites, generating about 600 MW of solar power. Construction and operation of these four additional locations, which will be located in Columbia, Levy and Bradford counties, will take place during 2025 and 2026.

By the end of 2026, Florida’s municipal solar project will consist of more than 1.8 million solar panels installed on eight farms.

“By partnering with our municipal power plant members and Origis Energy, we can take advantage of a great opportunity to increase our low-cost and reliable solar generation capacity at a time when solar costs are increasing,” said Jacob Williams. , Director General and Executive Director of FMPA. “The expansion of Florida’s municipal solar program will also enable us to serve several new communities that have not previously had access to solar energy.”

The large-scale solar project enables participants to provide solar energy to customers in a more cost-effective manner. The cost of project solar power is roughly one-third the cost of a typical private, rooftop solar system.

“Origis is very proud to contribute to this historic FMPA-led municipal solar program,” said Tanya Sessions, vice president of business development for Origis Energy. “What’s unique about working with FMPA is the opportunity to work with a large group of Florida cities that all have a passion for bringing clean energy solutions to their communities, to their homes, without sacrificing reliability or cost.”

A total of 20 Florida municipal electric utilities will purchase power from the project: Beaches Energy Services (Jacksonville Beach), Bushnell, Clewiston, Fort Meade, Fort Pierce Utilities Authority, Green Cove Springs, Havana, Homestead, JEA (Jacksonville), Keys Energy. Services (Key West), Kissimmee Utility Authority, Lake Worth Beach, Leesburg, Mount Dora, New Smyrna Beach, Newberry, Ocala, Orlando Utilities Commission, Starke and Winter Park. These cities are member-owners of the FMPA, along with 13 other municipal utilities.

For more information about the Florida Municipal Solar Project, or FMPA, visit www.fmpa.com.

News from Origis Energy