Dive Brief:
- Gulf Power will partner with the U.S. Navy and U.S. Air Force to build solar farms at three different facilities across Northwest Florida, the Tampa Bay Times reports. The project will be developed by HelioSage Energy.
- The utility has already filed the projects with state regulators, and says the solar generation could be in service as early as December 2016.
- The Times points out that while Gulf Power, a subsidiary of Southern Co., is the state's smallest utility the 120 MW proposal would be the state's largest solar generating project.
Dive Insight:
There's not much solar power in the Sunshine State, and these projects are in part aimed at helping the Department of Defense meet renewable goals.
If approved by the Florida Public Service Commission, construction could begin in February 2016. The solar energy farms will be constructed at Eglin AFB in Fort Walton Beach (30 MW), Holley Field in Navarre (40 MW) and Saufley Field in Pensacola (50 MW).
The project will help meet a Department of Defense goal of 25% renewables by 2025 and the Air Force’s energy goal of 1 GW of on-site capacity by 2016. And Gulf Power will serve customers across Northwest Florida with power from these renewable energy-generating facilities.
“This is an important collaboration between Gulf Power, the Navy and the Air Force,” said Stan Connally, Gulf Power president and CEO. “As military installations seek solutions to promote renewable energy generation, we have worked alongside our military customers to help provide cost-effective solutions — and all our customers will reap the benefit.”
It is Gulf Power’s second alternative energy project since launching the 3.2-MW Perdido Landfill gas-to-energy facility in 2010.
