A dozen municipal electric utilities will purchase power from a solar-energy project in Central Florida that is expected to start operating in 2020, the Florida Municipal Power Agency announced Friday.
The project is expected to include about 900,000 solar panels installed at three sites in Orange and Osceola counties.
Municipal utilities taking part in the project are in Alachua, Bartow, Jacksonville Beach, Fort Pierce, Homestead, Key West, Kissimmee, Lake Worth, Ocala, Orlando, Wauchula and Winter Park, according to the Florida Municipal Power agency, which will serve as the project coordinator.
“We are working hard to lower the cost of solar power, so that we can provide emissions-free electricity for customers and add to our already low emissions generation portfolio,” Jacob Williams, general manager and CEO of the wholesale power agency, said in a prepared statement. “Building a large project, like this, helps make solar more cost effective.”
The builder, owner and operator of the solar farms will be NextEra Florida Renewables, LLC, a subsidiary of NextEra Energy, Inc., which also is the parent of Florida Power & Light, according to the announcement.
