Florida Power & Light Company (FPL) has started construction of three new solar power plants at its future Manatee Solar Energy Center, in Florida, US.
With the new community-scale plants, the company expects to expand its existing solar capacity by threefold.
The project, which involves FPL’s Babcock Ranch Solar Energy Center and FPL Citrus Solar Energy Center, expects to produce low-cost, renewable energy by the end of this year.
The new solar plants will require an investment of around $400m, reported Bradenton Herald.
Upon completion, each of the three new solar plants will be equipped with 74.5MW capacity.
The company intends to build over 338,000 solar panels, covering an area of more than 762 acres, at the Manatee Solar Energy Center, which will produce a total of over 225MW of solar energy by the end of this year.
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By GlobalDataThe new plants will be an addition to the company’s existing solar facilities, which have a combined capacity to generate 110MW of power.
FPL president and CEO Eric Silagy said: "Six years ago, not far from here, FPL commissioned what was then the largest photovoltaic solar power plant ever built in the United States with 90,000 solar panels.
"Fast-forward to 2016, and we’re extending our leadership role in the renewable energy space by installing 1 million new solar panels. If you laid these panels end to end, they would nearly wrap around the entire state. But we couldn’t have come this far on our own.
"Working with the communities we serve, we are building solar energy centers that are not only reliable, but also cost-effective, providing affordable, clean energy for our customers for generations to come."
During the construction phase, the three new solar energy centres will employ around 250 people.
