Our expanding solar sites soak up the Florida sunshine
Our plan for a net-zero carbon future involves upping our use of renewable, zero/low-carbon technologies. We’re happy to report that in 2022, we’reon a roll – a solar roll. We’ve completed the first phase of our solar expansion with four new solar plants powered up and four more coming soon.
In early 2020, we committed to doubling our investment in solar by the end 2023. Since then,we’ve added 235 megawatts (MW) of electricity generated purely from the sun at these locations:
- Magnolia Solar in south Hillsborough County
- Big Bend Solar II in Hillsborough County
- Mountain View in Pasco County
- Jamison Solar in Polk County
To date, our solar projects can produce 893 MW, enough to power more than 140,000 homes.
What’s on our sunny horizon? We have another 200 MW of solar under construction at four more sites, so by the end of 2022, we’ll have more than 1,000 MW of solar. Three other projects will be complete at the end of 2023, when we’ll have 1,255 MW, or enough solar energy to power 200,000 homes. That bright future will reduce carbon emissions by 1.8 million tons.
When the near-term projects are complete, about 14 percent of our energy will come from the Florida sunshine – the highest percentage of solar generation of any utility in the state.
“Thanks to our strategic investment in solar power, Tampa Electric customers are expected to save about $80 million in fuel costs this year alone,” said Archie Collins, president and chief executive officer of Tampa Electric. “At a time when fuel costs are escalating, we know how important these savings are for customers.”
