Two photovoltaic plants in Florida, US, totalling 149MW have entered commercial operation.
Harmony Solar Energy Center in St. Cloud and Taylor Creek Solar Energy Center in east Orange County near Wedgefield each have a capacity of 74.5MW.
The plants are part of the Florida Municipal Solar Project, a partnership between the Florida Municipal Power Agency (FMPA) and 16 Florida public power utilities.
Six Florida cities will receive power from the two solar sites. They are Fort Pierce, Jacksonville Beach, Key West, Kissimmee, Ocala and Orlando.
FMPA general manager Jacob Williams said: “Today is a major step forward in providing affordable, solar energy to our customers.
“Through this project, we are adding to our already low emissions generation portfolio and meeting customers’ expectations to provide solar energy in the most economical way.”
The group is building five solar farms totalling 375MW of installed capacity by the end of 2023.
Florida Renewable Partners is the owner operator of three solar sites in phase one, and Origis Energy will develop two solar sites in phase two.
The 16 local municipal utilities that will purchase power from the 375MW portfolio are Alachua, Bartow, Beaches Energy Services (Jacksonville Beach), Fort Pierce Utilities Authority, Havana, Homestead, Keys Energy Services (Key West), Kissimmee Utility Authority, Lake Worth Beach, Mount Dora, New Smyrna Beach, Newberry, Ocala, Orlando Utilities Commission, Wauchula and Winter Park.
The cities are member-owners of FMPA along with 15 other municipal utilities.