According to FPL, it will be the first commercial-scale solar PV power in Florida, when it is complete at the end of 2009. The DeSoto Next Generation Solar Energy Center will have 90,000 PV panels on 180 acres of land.
The solar panels are produced by SunPower and use SunPower® Tracker technology, which is said to increase sunlight capture by up to 25% over fixed systems.
The DeSoto Next Generation Solar Energy Center is one of three solar facilities totalling 110 MW that FPL is building in Florida.
FPL started construction of the Martin Next Generation Solar Energy Center in December 2008, which could be the world’s first hybrid solar energy plant and the second largest solar thermal plant in the USA. It could generate 75 MW of solar energy once it is fully operational in 2010.
FPL will also build a third facility at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center, which will add another 10 MW to the state’s PV solar capacity.