Let the sun shine...in Sarasota

Florida's biggest utility, Florida Power & Light, says Gov. Charlie Crist will personally flip the switch Monday on the state's largest solar array.

The solar facility, built atop a closed landfill outside Sarasota, consists of 1,200 solar panels and produces 250 kilowatts (kW) of electricity, which is enough power to light 40 homes. No, that doesn't sound like a lot -- yet it's still the second largest solar array in the Southeast.

FP&L says the solar plant will prevent more than 680,000 pounds of carbon dioxide from entering the air each year and contributing to global warming. The utility said that's the equivalent to not driving nearly 761,000 miles a year or not making the 460-mile round-trip from Sarasota to Miami about 1,600 times or not making the 2,600-mile round-trip from Sarasota to New York about 290 times.

Last fall Crist joined former President Bill Clinton in announcing that FPL would also build Florida's first large-scale solar thermal power plant, which at 300-megawatts would be one of the largest such plants in the world. It would produce enough electricity to power more than 184,000 homes.

"Producing solar energy in the Sunshine State just makes sense," Crist said at the time.

To read our coverage of that 2007 announcement, click here.

--Craig Pittman

Comments

[paminator]

How much did it cost? There is no mention in the article.
Here is a real-world analysis of the cost of photovoltaic solar.
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/02/080220224901.htm