Utility Scale

S&P: Why Florida will become the Southeast’s solar leader

Utility-led expansions, competitive prices, and favorable state policies are developing Florida into the Southeast’s leader for solar capacity, according to a new report by S&P.

The state is expected to add more than 13,000 MW of solar generation installed over the next decade, the author’s stated, citing state regulators, with enough capacity coming online this year to top region-leader North Carolina.

Fast facts:

  • Total capacity in the Southeast in 2020: 12,696 MW
  • Southern Alliance for Clean Energy expects capacity to double by 2025
  • Florida has 3,909 MW solar capacity

“Utility-scale solar is now the most affordable new electricity generation infrastructure and we are seeing all utilities — municipal, electric cooperatives, and investor-owned utilities — in Florida rapidly investing in this resource,” Heather Campbell, Florida program director for Vote Solar, told S&P Global. “Some are also setting aggressive renewable energy goals, [for example,] Florida Power & Light Co.”

S&P noted a Florida Supreme Court decision in 2019 that allowed Florida Power & Light to recover solar project costs as an additional incentive for utility-scale investment.

Read S&P’s full report, State policy, aggressive utility plans to make Florida top Southeast solar state, here.

Tags