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Press Mention Orlando Sentinel March 9, 2012

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Florida's biggest solar-energy plant far from realizing its potential

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An Orlando Sentinel analysis of production data reveals that Florida Power & Light's solar plant in Martin County has significantly underperformed during its first year of operation. The facility, marketed as capable of powering 11,000 homes, generated enough electricity for only 2,056 homes according to monthly reports filed with the Florida Public Service Commission.

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Florida's biggest solar-energy plant far from realizing its potential

By Kevin Spear, Orlando Sentinel

10:05 p.m. EST, March 10, 2012

The mirror-covered behemoth that constitutes Florida's largest, and one of the nation's most ambitious, ventures into solar energy has been producing a small fraction of the power promised by its owner.

An Orlando Sentinel review of production data on file with state regulators reveals that, during its first year of operation, the Florida Power & Light Co. solar plant in Martin County has not come close to producing enough electricity to meet the demand of 11,000 homes — the output that FPL continues to claim for its one-of-a-kind facility.

Instead, it generated enough power last year for only 2,056 homes, according to the Sentinel's analysis of monthly reports filed by FPL with the Florida Public Service Commission.