FPL unveils new solar center as Florida projects boom in renewables

FPL unveils new solar center as
Florida projects boom in
renewables
Antonio Fins
Palm Beach Post
June 30, 20201

On the heels of the tearing down of its last coal-powered electric plant, Florida Power & Light officials last month unveiled their newest solar energy center – this one in western Palm Beach County.

The 74.5 megawatt, $100 million Sabal Palm Solar Energy Center stretches across 600 acres of formerly farm land in a quiet neighborhood in Loxahatchee. It is one of 42 solar plants producing 3,015 megawatts in Florida– enough to power more than 600,000 homes ever year – and about a fourth of the solar-generated electric total that the utility plans to produce by 2030.

The megawatt output is a relatively small number when compared to FPL's fossil fuel plants.

For example, the Riviera Beach Next Generation Clean Energy Center, a natural gas-powered plant, alone generates up to 1,250 megawatts of electricity, which can light up 250,000 homes and businesses. That facility, which became operational seven years ago, cost $1.3 billion.

The 74.5 megawatts that the solar field in Loxahatchee produces, just as the electricity generated at the Riviera Beach facility, all goes on the grid. But alone, the solar field would be enough to power, say, 15,000 homes.

And more solar generation is on the way – a lot more.

"With our '30 by 30' plan, we're going to have 30 million solar panels on the ground by the end of the decade," said Matthew Silver, project manager for FPL Development. "And I think we just recently announced we're at 12 million right now and it's 2021. We're definitely going to meet that target. We're marching there fast."

By 2030, solar would amount to 20% of the utility's total electric generation mix, he said. That's roughly seven times, in percentage terms, the amount of power from solar currently produced by FPL.

Florida to see major boost in solar power by 2024

Analysts for the Southern Alliance for Clean Energy, a nonprofit promoting renewable energy, say they expect a burst of solar power in Florida by 2024. In its annual "Solar in the Southeast" report, which was released this month, SACE projects solar-generated electricity in Florida will spike from about 3,900 megawatts now to 10,000 megawatts by 2024.

In fact, by the end of this year, SACE said, Florida "will surpass North Carolina" as the top solar producing state in the U.S. Southeast.

"Florida utilities continue to scale up their plans each year while North Carolina utilities are scaling back their near-term plans," the report said.

But Bryan Jacobs, who wrote the SACE study, cautions that FPL plus Gulf Power, the panhandle electric company that the Juno Beach utility bought last year, have ground to make up to meet debated federal guidelines for complete clean energy by 2035.

To phase out fossil fuels, primarily natural gas, the combined FPL and Gulf Power operations would have to generate 51% of their electricity from solar by the middle of the next decade, SACE said. Right now, though, Jacobs said, "we're looking at about 30% solar under current plans" that FPL has provided state regulators.

FPL declined to comment on the 2035 goals but said in a statement Tuesday that it is focused on initiatives to generate more "affordable, reliable and clean, zero-emissions energy," rather than focusing on a "carbon neutral goal."

Those efforts include the expansion of its solar centers, the FPL SolarTogether community program and developing battery-storage facilities, which includes what the utility bills as the "world's largest solar-powered battery" in Manatee County. Also on tap, the utility said, is a hydrogen pilot project and its innovative technologies.

By the end of the decade, FPL said, "nearly 40% of the company's power will be generated by zero-emissions energy sources," equaling a 65% increase from last year's total.

Sabal Palm generates energy from the sun in virtual silence

Off a gravel road at the end of Orange Drive in Loxahatchee, the Sabal Palm solar facility looks like a weedy field, other than the rows of dark panels connected to bright orange wiring. Unlike fossil-fuel plants, Sabal Palm is a silent operation.

FPL acquired the land out of a foreclosure proceeding, which improved the economics of the deal as the land was already cleared and leveled. Its proximity to the grid was another plus.

"That's how we typically site our properties," Silver said. "We go and look for cost-effective land near where we can inject on to the transmission grid."

The facility virtually runs on its own. FPL said no employees need to visit the facility on a daily basis, and operations are monitored from the company's headquarters.

The rows of panels are fixed in position facing south. The sunlight captured by the panels generates a flow of direct current through the orange cables to an onsite inverter in a large white metal container, where it is converted into alternating current for the grid.

The 74.5 MW generation is a maximum output level. On cloudy days, or even partly cloudy ones, the production is less than full capacity. FPL is working on developing battery projects where power from solar and other renewable energy sources can be stored for, literally, rainy days.

"I think you are going to see more batteries in the future as Florida grows its renewable portfolio," Silver said.

But Silver said electricity from Sabal Palms immediately flows onto the grid where it "serves all FPL customers." The facility is part of the SolarTogether program, which allows customers, especially commercial and industrial users, to subscribe for a monthly fee and offset their entire energy usage with solar.

Silver said FPL is focused on adding more solar facilities. Nine solar fields are currently under construction and will come online by next year, he said.

"Our 10-year site plan is pure solar," Silver said. "There's no plans in the 10-year site plan currently for anything other than solar for new facilities."

Another FPL solar center to replace former coal power plant

One of those will be located across the Martin County line in Indiantown.

On June 16, the utility imploded its former coal-fired plant at that site, the last of its 20th century fleet of coal electric facilities. The site will soon be home to another solar facility with 300,000 solar panels on 500 acres, FPL officials announced just before they tore down the former coal plant.

The tear down of the former Indiantown Cogeneration Plant lasted 15 seconds as a thunderous boom and shockwave was followed by a plume of smoke. FPL officials at the scene said the old plant would soon be replaced by a "new era" in energy generation at the site.

"Today is about ending one era, and I'm very very happy to announce us
ringing in a new era," said FPL President and Chief Executive Eric Silagy.