US energy company Florida Power & Light (FPL) is building the world’s largest solar-powered battery, four times the capacity of the world’s largest battery currently in operation in South Australia.
The 409MW facility, to be commissioned in late 2021, will be charged by one of FPL’s existing photovoltaic plants in Florida’s Manatee County.
By deploying energy from the batteries when there is higher demand for electricity, FPL will offset the need to run other power plants, further reducing emissions and saving customers more than $100m, estimates the company.
FPL chief executive Eric Silagy said: “This is a monumental milestone in realising the full benefits of solar power and yet another example of how FPL is working hard to position Florida as the global gold standard for clean energy.
“Replacing a large, aging fossil fuel plant with a mega battery that’s adjacent to a large solar plant is another world-first accomplishment and while I’m very pleased of that fact, what I’m most proud of is that our team remained committed to developing this clean energy breakthrough while saving customers money and keeping their bills among the lowest in the nation.”
The FPL Manatee Energy Storage Center is part of a modernisation plan to accelerate the retirement of two 1970s-era natural gas generating units at FPL’s neighbouring power plant.
In addition to the energy storage system in Manatee County, FPL is planning smaller battery installations across the state, numerous solar power plants and efficiency upgrades to existing combustion turbines at other power plants to replace the 1638 megawatts of generating capacity.