Florida municipal solar project expands to 600 MW

Over 1.8 million solar panels will be installed in the project, which has completed its first 150 MW phase.

July 12, 2023 Ryan Kennedy

An Origis project for the Tallahassee Airport.

Image: Origis Energy

The largest municipal electric utility owned solar asset just got much larger, as Origis Energy announced it will expand a 150 MW project to 600 MW. Aptly named the Florida Municipal Solar Project, the facility will become large enough to serve the equivalent of about 120,000 Florida homes.

In conjunction with the Florida Municipal Power Agency (FMPA) and 20 municipal electric utilities, developer Origis Energy will deliver the projects.

Two projects, Taylor Creek Solar in Orange County and Harmony Solar in Osceloa County, are operational and combine for 150 MW. The municipalities’ solar exposure will be quadrupled over the course of two subsequent project phases.

Phase two will entail two more solar facilities, Rice Creek Solar in Putnam County and Whistling Duck Solar in Levy County. The former will be completed this year and the latter is slated for commercial operations in 2024. Together the two will double the project capacity, adding another 150 MW.

Phase three will entail another doubling of total capacity, adding another 300 MW and bringing the total to 600 MW, making it among of the largest groupings of solar projects in the United States and the largest municipal project. This phase will add four additional sites across Columbia, Levy, and Bradford counties, reaching activation throughout 2025 and 2026.

Upon completion of the projects, over 1.8 million solar panels across eight facilities will be providing low-cost, clean electricity to municipal customers across Florida.

“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,” said Jacob Williams, general manager and chief executive officer of FMPA. “Expanding the Florida Municipal Solar Project will also enable us to serve several new communities that haven’t had access to solar before.”

A total of 20 Florida municipal electric utilities will purchase power from the project: Beaches Energy Services (Jacksonville Beach), Bushnell, Clewiston, Fort Meade, Fort Pierce Utilities Authority, Green Cove Springs, Havana, Homestead, JEA (Jacksonville), Keys Energy Services (Key West), Kissimmee Utility Authority, Lake Worth Beach, Leesburg, Mount Dora, New Smyrna Beach, Newberry, Ocala, Orlando Utilities Commission, Starke, and Winter Park.

These cities are member-owners of FMPA along with 13 other municipal utilities. The 33 members of FMPA serve more than 4.2 million Floridians and employ more than 4,700 people.

Headquartered in Miami, Origis Energy is a leading U.S. player in renewables development, financing, engineering, procurement, and construction (EPC) and operations, maintenance and asset management. The company has developed 170 projects worldwide totaling more than 5 GW to date of developed solar, energy storage and clean hydrogen capacity.

Origis has been active in procuring solar modules and financing to support its large book of projects, including multi-year supply deals with Boviet Solar, Maxeon, and First Solar.

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