Ground mounted solar panels comprise the largest solar plant in the U.S.

A small town in Florida will soon have some very big bragging rights. The Desoto Next Generation Solar Energy Center has been under construction for a year, testing is nearly complete, and the 25 MW facility will be the largest solar plant in the United States.  Annually, it will generate 42,000 megawatt-hours (MWh), which is enough to completely power 3,000 homes.

Comprised of 180 acres of ground-mounted solar panels – over 90,000 panels total – the new solar plant will generate twice as much solar electricity as the next largest solar plant in the U.S.  Electricity will be fed into the Florida Power & Light grid, which provides energy to 4 million customers.

The switch will be flipped this week, and clean solar energy will start flowing into the grid tomorrow.  Yet, the DeSoto Next Generation solar plant will enjoy its “day in the sun” only briefly.  While it is the largest solar plant in the United States today, larger projects also are underway in California and Nevada.

Solar power in Florida has a way to go, to catch up with national leading states like California, New Jersey and Colorado.  While rooftop solar panels can be found in the Sunshine State, larger-scale projects are starting to come online more slowly, due to the lack of mandates and programs like California’s Million Solar Roofs.

Better late than never, I say!

Individual PV Panels on a home in Florida

The Desoto facility is the third of two other solar projects spearheaded by Florida Power & Light. Combined, they will generate a total of 110 MW of power, and reduce greenhouse gas emissions by over 3.5 million tons…. the equivalent of removing 25,000 cars from the road each year!

A few additional facts:

• The Desoto project cost $150 million to build
• 400 new, green jobs were created
  
• The United States trails other nations in constructing photovoltaic (PV) plants
• Spain, Germany and China have made larger, governmental commitments to solar power
• Florida Gov. Charlie Crist tried, but failed to get a law passed that would have required power companies to generate 20 percent of their electricity through clean sources by 2020.

Many are hoping that the DeSoto Next Generation plant will spur additional solar development in Florida, and encourage the Legislature to finally pass laws that will continue to encourage green development in the state.  Its time to pay attention right now, while it can still claim that its the largest solar plant in the United States!

Solar Power Loophole may cost Florida residents

A solar power loophole costs Florida residents more than installing solar panels may be worth.  The state of the legal system in the Sunshine State permits homeowners to sell excess solar power generated on their properties to Florida utilities.  That’s good.  But the law also allows the same utilities to sell it back to residents for twice as much!

Case in point:  the largest privately-owned solar energy system in Florida is a 300-PV panel installation on a ranch owned by Mary Clark.  Clean, renewable energy from the often-present sun should have resulted in an energy savings of $4000 a month for the Sarasota County property.  Even with tax incentives and increased property value, the investment was about half a million for the solar panels.

Instead of a significant savings, the 88-year old Clark is finding herself as the poster child for the flaws in the new law that – ironically – was designed to promote solar power by reimbursing panel owners for the additional energy generated that they do not immediately use.

The fear is that people that otherwise would have been brought to the “solar power table,” homeowners, farmers, and small businesses will likely be discouraged from considering investment in alternative sources that is a key factor in overall adoption of emerging sources and energy independence.

So much potential for solar in Florida:

Solar power ample in Florida

Clark is trying to fight back, but currently to no avail.  Florida Power and Light says that they are “just following the law.”  And that law, enacted in 2008, does not account for properties with more than one electric meter.  By itself, this solar power loophole may prevent people from installing PV panels.  For people like Clark, her solar energy generation is concentrated, while the electrical consumption is widespread.

Unfortunately for Clark (and probably other Florida residents) she thought the Florida utility could combine her separate meter bills into one, and then deduct from that single electricity bill the credits to which she would be entitled for generating excess solar power, at a retail rate of 12 cents per kWh (kilowatt hour).

Standing in the way is a 1969 Florida law that makes it illegal to combine more than one electric meter under a single bill.

Seems like a change in the law is required.  While ordinary people like Clark may try to lobby the legislature, its clear that 88-year old residents cannot effect the necessary revisions to close the solar power loophole by themselves.

Time to call on Florida utilities and other influential groups to help ensure that solar energy is affordable for everyone.

Miami is plugging into the Smart Grid

Today, General Electric (GE) announced that the Smart Grid has come to Miami, Florida.  The Energy Smart Miami Initiative was rolled out today, providing more than a million wireless “smart meters” to each and every home in Miami-Dade County.  GE has partnered with Silver Springs Network and Cisco for technology and communications components of the smart grid in Miami.

Just in time for Earth Day, the announcement is exciting on a number of levels.  As explained in an email press release by GE:

The groundbreaking project has the potential to be the most comprehensive and holistic smart grid city implementation ever launched in the United States.  Energy Smart Miami will empower Florida Power & Light customers to use in-home devices to pay lower prices for electrical power — such as using off-peak energy on high consumption washers and dryers and plug-in vehicles.  While so-called “time of use” pricing reduces consumer energy use by 5 percent, studies show that when combined with technologies such as smart appliances, smart thermostats and home energy displays, savings can jump to an average of 25 percent.  And in a yearlong study by the U.S. Department of Energy, smart grid consumers reduced peak consumption by up to 15 percent — and overall consumption by up to 10 percent.

Time for an Energy Smart Miami

Use of $200 million from the federal Stimulus monies provided to Florida will help get the project off the ground, and will create as many as one thousand green jobs during the 2-year roll-out.

If you are familiar with the concept of a smart-grid, you’ll recognize the importance the upgrade will have to renewable energy projects like solar panels and wind.

As renewable energy production is connected to the general power grid, a “smart” computer-enabled grid is required to manage the result.  When people rely on distributed generation renewable energy instead of electricity from centralized power plants, it can be expensive to manage the variable power generation, changing usage patterns, and multiple sources.

With GE’s participation in the development of smart grid for our country’s future energy needs, we’ll get there soon.  Miami is a great test case for the rest of the nation and the world.

We’ll finally see first-hand that the efficiencies of smart grid management, when combined with sustainable renewable energy, is a critical element in the fight against global climate change and foreign oil dependence.