Duke Energy has filed locations of three new solar power plants it is developing in Florida, totalling 232MW.
All three plants are expected to be finished in late 2021.
The Duette solar power plant will be built in Manatee County.
Once operational, the 74.5MW facility will consist of approximately 227,000 single-axis tracking solar panels, producing electricity at an estimated cost of $0.42 (€0.38) per 1000 kilowatt-hours (kWh).
The Charlie Creek solar power plant will be built in Hardee County.
The 74.9MW facility will consist of approximately 235,000 single-axis tracking solar panels, producing electricity at an estimated cost of $0.39 per 1000kWh.
The 79.9MW Archer solar power plant will consist of approximately 220,000 single-axis tracking solar panels and will produce electricity at an estimated cost of $0.32 per 1000kWh.
During construction each solar project will create approximately 200 to 300 temporary jobs.
Duke Energy Florida will own, operate and maintain all three.
Duke Energy Florida state president Catherine Stempien said: “The Archer, Duette and Charlie Creek solar power plants will complete Duke Energy Florida’s commitment to customers to provide 700MW of clean, green energy by 2022.
“Once operational, our solar power plants will eliminate nearly three billion pounds of carbon dioxide emissions each year. The sun shines bright here in Florida, and we are committed to making more solar investments in the years to come.”
Duke Energy Florida currently has more than 500MW of solar generation under construction or in operation, excluding Duette, Charlie Creek and Archer.
The company is investing an estimated $1bn to construct or acquire a total of 700MW of solar power facilities from 2018 through 2022 in Florida and is planning to reach a total of almost 1700 MW of solar generation over the next 10 years.
Duke Energy Florida recently completed two other facilities, the 74.9MW Columbia solar plant in Columbia County and the 74.5MW DeBary solar power plant in Volusia County.