Duke Energy Florida (DEF) has announced the locations for its 195MW of solar power plants in the state, as part of its plans to add 700MW of solar generation through 2022
Image: Duke Energy Florida to build 3 solar power plants. Photo: Courtesy of Duke Energy Corporation.
DEF is planning to build 45MW Lake Placid solar power plant on a 380 acres site in Highlands County, which also features approximately 180,000 tracking solar panels.
Lake Placid solar power plant is expected to be operational by December 2019 and is expected to be owned, operated and maintained by DEF, which has acquired the development rights for the project from EDF Renewables, and is responsible for all remaining development activities, including construction.
DEF intends to build the 74.9MW Trenton solar power plant on a 580 acres site in Gilchrist County, featuring approximately 280,000 tracking solar panels, capable of producing enough carbon-free energy to power more than 23,000 households at peak production.
The Trenton facility is expected to be owned, operated and maintained by DEF and is scheduled to start services in December 2019. DEF said that it has acquired the project development rights from Southeast Solar & Power, and is responsible for all remaining development activities, including construction.
The company intends to build the 74.5MW DeBary solar power plant on an approximately 445 acres site in Volusia County, equipped with approximately 300,000 fixed-tilt solar panels to produce enough carbon-free energy to power over 20,000 average homes at peak production.
The DeBray facility is expected to be developed, owned, operated and maintained by DEF, which has been developed on the DEF-owned land in the city of DeBary and is expected to start services by March 2020.
Duke Energy Florida state president Catherine Stempien said: “These three solar power plants are expected to eliminate nearly 800 million pounds of carbon dioxide emissions in Florida each year upon commercial operation. That’s the equivalent of taking about 70,000 passenger cars off the road each year.
“These projects represent our commitment to the environment and more fuel diversity in the state as we strategically pace the expansion of renewable generation for our Florida customers’ benefit.”
DEF claims that it is investing an estimated $1bn to construct or acquire a total of 700MW of cost-effective solar power facilities by 2022.