United StatesAn alliance composed of the Florida Municipal Power Agency (FMPA), 20 Florida municipal electric utilities and Origis Energy announced a significant expansion of the existing 150-MW Florida Municipal Solar Project, which is one of the largest municipal-backed solar projects in the U.S.
The project currently consists of two solar farms, Taylor Creek Solar in Orange County and Harmony Solar in Osceola County. The expansion will undergo two phases of expansion, utilizing Origis Energy's established capabilities as a solar developer and solar EPC services provider.
The first phase will construct two more solar farms—they are Rice Creek Solar in Putnam County and Whistling Duck Solar in Levy County, respectively. The former is slated to be completed by the end of this year, while the latter is projected for completion in 2024. When both are online, they will add nearly 150 MW of new solar capacity to the current project.
The second phase of the expansion will build another four solar farms in Columbia, Levy and Bradford Counties. Construction and operation of these sites will be staggered throughout 2025 and 2026. Upon completion, the Florida Municipal Solar Project is anticipated to supply about 600 MW of solar energy, quadrupling the amount currently generated by the project.
This large-scale solar project enables utility members to provide solar energy to their customers in the most cost-effective way. The alliance stated that the cost of solar from this project is merely about one-third the cost of a typical residential rooftop solar system.
Jacob Williams, general manager and CEO of FMPA, said: "By partnering with our municipal electric utilities members and Origis Energy, we are able to take advantage of a great opportunity to increase the volume of our low-cost, reliable solar generation at a time when solar costs have been escalating."
"Expanding the Florida Municipal Solar Project will also enable us to serve several new communities that haven't had access to solar before," added Williams.
