Tampa Electric Announces Plans to Build the Largest Solar Project in the Tampa Bay Area at the Utility’s Big Bend Power Sta...
August 04 2015 - 8:30AM
Business Wire
25-megawatt system will benefit all Tampa Electric
customers
Tampa Electric, subsidiary of TECO Energy (NYSE: TE), today
announced the utility will build the largest solar project in the
Tampa Bay area. The 25-megawatt (MW) facility will feature more
than 70,000 solar panels on 125 acres of company-owned land at the
Big Bend Power Station in Apollo Beach. Scheduled to be completed
in 2016, the solar project will be the largest ever built by Tampa
Electric and have the capacity to power more than 3,500 homes.
“Tampa Electric has a long history of pursuing and supporting
solar power,” said Gordon Gillette, president of Tampa Electric and
Peoples Gas. “With this project, we will have invested more than
$50 million in solar since 2000. We’re pleased to be able to
demonstrate our commitment to providing our customers with more
renewable energy by taking advantage of declining solar system
prices and the land we own at Big Bend.
“This large-scale facility will benefit our more than 700,000
customers and showcase how a diversified mix of energy resources
delivers affordable and reliable energy to meet Florida’s
electricity needs now and in the future,” added Gillette.
Hillsborough County Commission Chair Sandy Murman said, “Siting
this solar project at Big Bend is certain to increase the
visibility and understanding of solar power in the Tampa Bay area.
I commend Tampa Electric for their vision and long-standing
commitment to the environment and community.”
The Big Bend site includes Tampa Electric’s Manatee Viewing
Center (MVC), which has hosted more than 4.3 million visitors since
it opened in 1986. That number will increase with construction
underway at the Florida Conservation and Technology Center just
south of the property.
The Big Bend installation is the second large-scale solar
project being built by Tampa Electric. The first, a 2-MW facility
at Tampa International Airport, is under construction on the top
floor of the airport’s south economy parking garage. Scheduled to
be completed by the end of the year, it will be able to produce
enough electricity to power up to 250 homes, or roughly the
equivalent of the airport’s new 1.4-mile automated people
mover.
The large-scale solar installations at Big Bend and Tampa
International Airport highlight Tampa Electric’s commitment to
clean energy and complement the utility’s existing solar systems
that since 2000 have allowed customers to voluntarily purchase
renewable energy. Today, the company has installed solar systems at
LEGOLAND Florida, the Florida Aquarium, Tampa’s Lowry Park Zoo, the
Museum of Science and Industry, the MVC, and two schools (Walker
Middle School and Middleton High School). Tampa Electric plans to
install another solar PV system as part of its Renewable Energy
program this year.
The 25-MW solar facility at Big Bend will further reduce Tampa
Electric’s overall carbon dioxide emissions. The utility is an
industry leader in emissions reductions, having completed a $1.2
billion agreement to dramatically reduce overall emissions.
Tampa Electric, one of Florida’s largest investor-owned electric
utilities, is part of the TECO Energy family of companies. Tampa
Electric serves more than 700,000 customers in West Central
Florida. TECO Energy Inc. (NYSE: TE) is an energy-related holding
company with regulated electric and gas utilities in Florida and
New Mexico: Tampa Electric, Peoples Gas System and New Mexico Gas
Co. Other TECO Energy subsidiaries include TECO Coal, which owns
and operates coal-production facilities in Kentucky, Tennessee and
Virginia.
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version on businesswire.com: http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20150804005371/en/
for Tampa ElectricSylvia Vega, 813-228-4381
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