Florida Power & Light (FPL) has filed a proposal with the state regulator for a community solar programme totalling 1490MW.
Pending the Florida Public Service Commission’s approval, FPL plans to install the capacity across 20 new photovoltaic plants in its service territory to meet anticipated customer enrolment in the programme.
The first six solar plants, each of which will have about 300,000 solar panels and be capable of generating 74.5MW, are scheduled to be operational in early 2020. The remaining 14 facilities are planned for 2021.
The new assets are projected to generate an estimated $139m in net savings for customers over the long term, primarily from avoided fuel and other system savings.
Through the voluntary initiative, participating customers will be able to subscribe to a portion of the new solar power capacity, earning credits in return that will reduce monthly bills over time.
FPL expects participants to achieve payback on their subscription within seven years.
FPL chief executive Eric Silagy said: “This innovative programme is another major step forward in our ’30-by-30′ plan, which is one of the world’s largest solar expansions, and also an unprecedented opportunity for our customers to harness the power of the sun like never before.”
If approved, FPL’s SolarTogether will be the largest community solar programme in the US. According to the Solar Energy Industry of America’s latest information, a total of 1298MW of community solar was been installed in the US through the third quarter of last year.
Silagy said: “This programme will more than double the amount of community solar currently in the US.”
FPL studied community solar initiatives offered throughout the country, including Florida.
According to the utility, participants will not be tied to a long-term contract and can terminate or reduce their subscription at any time.
Because the subscription is associated with a customer account and not a physical address, participants who move within FPL’s service area can maintain their subscription benefits, said the company.
To gauge potential customer interest in the programme FPL worked with its largest energy users and more than 200 of them – including municipalities, large national retail chains, universities, banks, restaurants and schools – have committed to participate.
They include Miami-Dade County, Broward County 7-Eleven and the City of Sarasota.