In It for the Long Haul:
As well, Duke is moving forward with a ive-megawatt solar power plant near
Walt Disney World Resort.
“We are committed to working with customers to expand their use of renewable
energy,” said Alex Glenn, Duke Energy Florida president and a member of the
As Florida increasingly focuses on cleaner, more
Florida High Tech Corridor Council, who called the project “another example
eficient energy sources, high tech industry has
of how we are meeting our customers’ interests in renewable energy, while
evolved to provide sustainable solutions, and
bringing more solar choices to Florida.”
nowhere is that more true than along Florida’s
High Tech Corridor.
In Volusia County, more than a hundred thousand race fans are experiencing
solar power generation in a unique environment. As part of Daytona Rising, a
One byproduct of the growth of high tech
$400 million “reimagining” of the Daytona International Speedway, Florida Power
industry is an ever-increasing demand for
& Light (FPL) partnered with the Speedway to develop the FPL Solar Circuit,
energy to fuel advanced technological
featuring more than 7,000 solar panels generating 2.1 megawatts of electricity
equipment. As such, Corridor universities,
across three solar installations. The project is the ifth-largest solar facility at an
research partners and industry leaders are
American sports stadium, and brings tremendous visibility to sustainable energy
focused on developing sustainable energy
efforts in Florida.
approaches that ease the burden on Florida’s
environment.
Amazingly, that project represents less than 1 percent of the solar generating
capacity FPL is building in 2016 alone. By the end of the year, the company will
Given Florida’s well-deserved nickname as
have added more than 225 megawatts of solar capacity, equal to more than
the “Sunshine State,” it stands to reason that
45,000 typical rooftop solar panel installations, at no net cost to customers.
much of the sustainable energy development
underway is in the ield of solar electricity
A highlight of that expansion is the FPL Citrus Solar Energy Center in DeSoto
generation and distribution.
County, a grid-connected 74-megawatt solar power plant. “We’re now building
three large-scale solar power plants, which are by far the most economical
On The Corridor’s western end, Duke Energy
way to advance solar energy in Florida for the beneit of all customers,” said
is mounting a 10-year plan to build up to 500
Eric Silagy, FPL president and CEO. “This will allow us to cost-effectively triple the
megawatts of solar energy generation by 2024.
amount of solar energy we use to serve our customers by the end of 2016.”
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