NewsLocal NewsCollier County

Actions

Immokalee solar energy center is one of twelve in SWFL

Posted at 8:41 AM, Apr 22, 2022
and last updated 2022-04-22 08:47:11-04

IMMOKALEE, Fla. — Today is Earth Day and that means plenty will be doing their part to help the environment.

Florida Power and Light are doing its part with the company's first solar energy center in Collier County.

FPL Spokesperson Jack Eble says “They coexist with the environment so, actually, one of the benefits is that it can sit here and it powers clean, zero-emissions energy for our customers and its minimal visual impact. It generates powers without causing a ruckus.”

Thousands of solar panels bask under the Floridian sun collecting energy that helps power homes.

These panels are strong enough to power up to 15,000 homes.

FPL Engineer Richard Carter says “It’s pretty simple. Nothing but solar panels, combiner boxes, and inverters. All of this energy is directed back to the grid where it goes to our customers.”

Construction took about 6-10 months to complete.

The Immokalee Solar Energy Center is just one of twelve centers in Southwest Florida.

FPL says over the course of the last twenty years, clean energy technology has saved customers more than $12.4 billion in fossil fuel costs.

Officials also report it has avoided more than 183 million tons of carbon dioxide emissions during this same time period.

They expect to install 16 million more of these panels across the state in the next four years.