The newly announced solar sites are:
"These plants are another step forward in our ongoing strategy of making smart investments to better serve our customers now and in the future," said Eric Silagy, president and CEO of FPL
FPL's solar expansion plays a significant role in its attempts to provide clean, affordable energy to customers. This month, the company implemented a rate decrease, and its typical customer bill is now approximately 30 percent lower than the national average.
Each of the new solar plants will have a capacity of 74.5 MW. Combined, FPL expects the plants to generate enough energy annually to power approximately 60,000 homes.
Construction is expected to commence later this year. At the height of construction, each of the sites is anticipated to employ about 200 people, for a total of approximately 800 jobs.
FPL plans to expand its innovative "Solar Sanctuary" partnership with Audubon Florida to the new sites. The program is designed to enhance FPL's solar power plant sites with environmental stewardship, providing thousands of acres of habitat for native plants, birds and vital pollinators such as bumblebees and butterflies.
FPL's solar energy centers are virtually silent, operate autonomously and without water. The panels sit low to the ground, and the layout of each site is unique to minimize impacts to wetlands and surrounding areas.
"We are proud of our long partnership with FPL," said Pete Tesch, president of the Economic Development Council of St. Lucie County, home of the future FPL Interstate Solar Energy Center and recently completed FPL Loggerhead Solar Energy Center. "Investing in affordable clean energy infrastructure is one of the many reasons our state is top of mind as best places to live and work. No one understands this better than FPL, and they've got the track record to show it."
