Thanks to smart planning, the utility’s solar projects will proceed on current timetable
Tampa Electric announced today that its solar projects will be unaffected by the recent executive order affecting some solar modules.
President Donald Trump signed an executive order Monday that adds a significant import tariff, or tax, onto certain solar panels that are brought into the United States.
“Thanks to good planning and strategy, Tampa Electric secured a contract with a solar panel manufacturer, First Solar, that uses a type of technology that is exempt from the tariff,” said Tom Hernandez, senior vice president of Business Strategy and Renewables for Tampa Electric. “This keeps the cost of solar lower for our customers. We expect to complete our solar projects on time and on budget.”
Tampa Electric will install 600 megawatts (MW) of thin-film technology solar panels, which are manufactured at First Solar’s Ohio and Malaysia facilities. The company used these same panels in the Big Bend Solar project.
Tampa Electric recently announced plans to dramatically increase the amount of solar power in our generation fleet. During the next 36 months, the company will add 6 million solar panels in 10 new photovoltaic solar projects, making it the Florida utility with the highest percentage of solar power.
The first two solar projects, totaling nearly 150 MW, will be built by First Solar and are expected to come online in September. The remaining projects will be completed by January 2021.
Tampa Electric, one of Florida’s largest investor-owned electric utilities, serves about 750,000 customers in West Central Florida. Tampa Electric is a subsidiary of Emera Inc., a geographically diverse energy and services company headquartered in Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada.
