Florida Power and Light (FPL) has announced plans to build eight new solar plants, each with a capacity of 74.5MW, in the US state of Florida by early 2018.
The eight solar plants, which will have a combined capacity of about 596MW, are estimated to be built with a cost of about $900m.
The new plants are expected to produce enough electricity annually to power about 120,000 homes in the state.
Out of the eight solar plants, the four plants that are scheduled to be completed by the end of 2017 include: FPL Coral Farms Solar Energy Center, Putnam County; FPL Horizon Solar Energy Center, Alachua and Putnam Counties; FPL Indian River Solar Energy Center, Indian River County; and FPL Wildflower Solar Energy Center, DeSoto County.
The remaining four plants that are expected to be completed by March 2018 include: FPL Barefoot Bay Solar Energy Center, Brevard County; FPL Blue Cypress Solar Energy Center, Indian River County; FPL Hammock Solar Energy Center, Hendry County; and FPL Loggerhead Solar Energy Center, St. Lucie County.
Over their operational life time, the new solar plants are projected to result in net savings of $39m for FPL customers. Each of the solar plant sites is expected to employ about 200 people during the peak stage of the construction.
FPL president and CEO Eric Silagy said: "With the support of communities across the state, we are advancing smart, affordable clean energy infrastructure while keeping customer bills low. On a per-megawatt basis, these eight new plants will be the lowest-cost solar ever built in Florida and some of the lowest-cost solar ever built in America.
“Our steadfast commitment to delivering solar cost-effectively directly benefits our customers, our environment and the economy."
Image: FPL to construct 8 solar plants by next year in Florida, US. Photo: Courtesy of Ben Schonewille/FreeDigitalPhotos.net.