Florida municipal utilities announced the expansion of large-scale solar project. Representatives of member utilities of the Florida Municipal Power Agency and Origis Energy gather to celebrate one of the largest municipal-backed solar projects in the nation. (Courtesy: Origis Energy)

Florida Municipal Power Agency, in conjunction with 20 Florida municipal electric utilities and Origis Energy, announced an expansion of the Florida Municipal Solar Project, one of the largest municipal-backed solar projects in the nation. Upon completion, the expansion will quadruple the amount of solar power currently generated by the project.

The project currently consists of two solar farms, Taylor Creek Solar in Orange County and Harmony Solar in Osceola County, that generate nearly 150 MW of solar power – enough to power approximately 30,000 Florida homes.

The second phase of the expansion will include the addition of two more solar farms, Rice Creek Solar in Putnam County and Whistling Duck Solar in Levy County. It is anticipated that Rice Creek Solar will be completed by the end of this year and Whistling Duck Solar is projected for completion in 2024. When both new sites are online, they will generate nearly 150 MW of solar energy.

Phase 3 of the project will bring another four solar farms online, which will double the size of the project from four to eight sites that will generate nearly 600 MW of solar power – four times what is currently being generated. Construction and operation of these four additional sites, which will be located in Columbia, Levy and Bradford Counties, will be staggered throughout 2025 and 2026.

By the end of 2026, the Florida Municipal Solar Project will consist of more than 1.8 million solar panels installed on eight farms. In 2021, S&P projected that Florida could become the new leader in solar power in the Southeast, with 13,000 MW of new solar generation projected to be installed over the next decade at the time.

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.