Juno Beach, Fla.: Florida Power & Light Company announced a plan March 28 to build the world’s largest solar-powered battery system – four times the capacity of the largest battery system in operation – as part of an innovative modernization plan that will accelerate the retirement of two fossil fuel generation units.
The future FPL Manatee Energy Storage Center is to have 409 megawatts of capacity when it begins serving customers in late 2021 and will be charged by an existing FPL solar power plant in Manatee County. By deploying energy from the batteries when there is higher demand for electricity, FPL will offset the need to run other power plants, further reducing emissions and saving customers money through avoided fuel costs. The storage center will be able to distribute 900 MWh of electricity. The storage center is part of a modernization plan to accelerate the retirement of two 1970s-era natural gas units at FPL’s neighboring power plant, and replace them with renewable energy.
In addition to the Manatee County storage system, FPL is planning smaller battery installations across the state, numerous solar power plants and efficiency upgrades to existing combustion turbines at other power plants to replace the 1,638 MW of capacity.