SPACE COAST’S SOLAR FUTURE
As residents of the Space Coast, we are fortunate to live in a place that highlights the best of human potential when it comes to technology and exploration. As we witness the newest rockets launch into the atmosphere along our coastline, it allows us to reflect on the future of technology in our day-to-day lives and the future of the Space Coast Community. The forecasts are leaning towards clean energy. Our area is going solar and it all seems to have started with partnerships with NASA and Kennedy Space Center.
Currently, within a 50 acres plot set aside on the Kennedy Space Center, approximately 30,000 small Next Generation solar power panels have been installed that can provide approximately 1,100 homes with all the power they could ever need.
This joint venture between NASA and Florida Power and Light has a dual purpose. It was created to help homeowners on the Space Coast find a cleaner and renewable source of power, and to provide NASA with the latest and greatest technologies that they can implement for use on satellites, Space Stations, and one-day potential colonies on other planets. FPL currently is using a 25-megawatt solar facility in Desoto county and will be building a 75-megawatt facility in Indiantown Florida. It will provide energy for tens of thousands of homes and harness the ample sun energy that we have available, after all, Florida is the Sunshine State.
You don’t have to be NASA or FLP to immediately take part in the benefits that solar power has to offer. As a homeowner, you can take part in solar incentive programs, like FPL Net Metering. After you install solar energy to power your home you can simply fill out the paperwork on fpl.com and they will replace the current electric meter with one that shows both your home usage and the available electricity to be sold back to the grid. The solar power companies providing the setup are cheaper here than in any other state. This is for a system that would replace 100 percent of the energy you need from the grid. No more power outages after a potential storm and one of the best parts may be the fact that FPL will buy excess power back from you to put into the grid. They will pay you for the power you do not use that was originally provided to you free from the sun.
In addition, in 2021 and all of next year, Florida is giving out a 26 percent investment tax credit to homes that have pursued this opportunity. It’s going down to 20 percent in 2023 and then it is gone. It’s so cliche to say “time is running out” but in this case it’s true.
Just by installing solar energy to power your home, you would save your household approximately $52,000 over the next 25 years, and that’s without Net Metering or a buyback program. Imagine the savings when you include the incentive programs.
That’s savings that can be put into your property, a boat, a child’s college education or an education fund for grandchildren. Profiting from our sunny weather could not be any easier. Investment in solar energy is not only a smart choice for your bottom line but you are also making a wise decision that can benefit future generations.
