Florida Municipal Power Agency (FMPA), along with 12 Florida municipal electric utilities and Florida Renewable Partners LLC, has broken ground on the Florida Municipal Solar Project, one of the largest municipal-backed solar projects in the nation.
A total of approximately 900,000 solar panels will be installed at two sites in Osceola County and at one site in Orange County. The total generating capability will be 223.5 MW.
“We are pleased to start construction on a project of this size, which will enable us to provide affordable, emissions-free solar power to our customers,” says FMPA’s Jacob Williams, general manager and CEO of the Orlando-based wholesale power agency. “By working together, the cities can build a larger, more efficient facility to help make solar energy cost effective.”
The 12 local utilities that will purchase power from the project include: Alachua, Bartow, Beaches Energy Services (Jacksonville Beach), Fort Pierce Utilities Authority, Homestead, Keys Energy Services (Key West), Kissimmee Utility Authority, Lake Worth Beach, Ocala, Orlando Utilities Commission, Wauchula and Winter Park.
Construction on phase one of the project will continue through mid-2020. FMPA is serving as the project coordinator. The builder, owner and operator of the solar farms is Florida Renewable Partners.
While construction of the first phase is underway, FMPA and its members are working to expand its solar power generation. The utilities are looking to grow the project to a total of 375 MW by 2023.
