Work is underway in the US state of Florida on the construction of an over 223MW municipal solar facility.
Florida Municipal Power Agency (FMPA), 12 Florida municipal electric utilities and Florida Renewable Partners today broke ground on the Florida Municipal Solar Project, which will comprise approximately 900,000 panels at two sites in Osceola County and at one site in Orange County.
The panels are being installed with a computer-controlled tracking system that tracks the sun as it travels from east to west, maximizing power output.
Construction of phase one will continue until mid-2020. The utilities are looking to grow the project to 375MW by 2023.
The 12 local utilities will purchase power from the project. They 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.
FMPA is the project coordinator, while the builder, owner and operator is Florida Renewable Partners.
FMPA general manager Jacob Williams said: “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.
“By working together, the cities can build a larger, more efficient facility to help make solar energy cost effective.”