DeSoto Next Generation Solar Energy Center Breaks Ground

Florida Power & Light Co. broke ground Thursday on its DeSoto Next Generation Solar Energy Center, which the company says will bring commercial-scale solar photovoltaic power to the Sunshine State for the first time.

The 25-megawatt plant will be the largest photovoltaic solar facility in the nation when it is complete at the end of this year. The center will use 90,000 photovoltaic panels on 180 acres, and provide enough electricity to power more than 3,000 homes, which is nearly 20 percent of the population in DeSoto County, according to Juno Beach-based FP&L.

“Solar power will help promote a new clean-energy economy in Florida, reduce our dependence on fossil fuels, and address global climate change through the production of emissions-free energy,” FPL Group President and Chief Operating Officer Jim Robo said.

Photovoltaic panels convert sunlight directly into electricity, which can be fed onto the electrical grid without the need of a turbine generator.

“The facility will provide significant economic benefits to DeSoto County, creating more than 200 jobs during peak construction and providing more than $2 million in annual tax revenues by the end of 2010 to help boost the local economy,” FP&L said in a news release.

This is one of three new solar facilities FP&L is building in Florida. In December, it broke ground on the Martin Next Generation Solar Energy Center, which will be the world’s first hybrid solar energy plant and the second-largest solar thermal plant in the nation.

The company will build a third facility at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center, which will add 10 megawatts to the state’s photovoltaic solar capacity.

Shares of parent company FPL Group were down 98 cents to $46.44 in afternoon trading. The 52-week high was $68.98 on May 2. The 52-week low was $33.81 on Oct. 10.