Leading the Way Toward a Brighter Future
Commission Approves Customer Program, Announces Groundbreaking for Solar Farm
May 24, 2017
City of Tallahassee utility customers will soon be able to take advantage of clean, renewable solar energy. Tonight, the Tallahassee City Commission approved the customer participation program for Tallahassee Solar and announced the start of construction for the Capital City's first solar farm.
The customer participation program for Tallahassee Solar is designed to provide residential and commercial utility customers with a fixed rate for energy produced by the new 20 megawatt (MW) solar farm, which will break ground next week.
To celebrate the start of construction, City leaders, along with representatives from Origis Energy, will host a groundbreaking event on Tuesday, May 30, at 11 a.m. The groundbreaking event will take place on the site of the future solar farm at 5700 Springhill Road, which is located on Tallahassee International Airport (TLH) property two miles south of the Capital Circle SW and Springhill Road intersection. The public is invited to attend. Parking will be available, and lunch will be provided.
"This groundbreaking event is an important milestone in the City of Tallahassee's continued efforts to diversify our energy options," City Commissioner Gil Ziffer said. "We encourage everyone to join us for this special occasion and learn more about how the power of solar will benefit our community."
Residential, small- and medium-sized commercial customers will be able to elect for all or a portion of their monthly electric bill to reflect solar at one of three rate levels: 25, 50 and 100 percent. Solar subscriptions will be available on a first come, first served basis.
To allow a variety of customers to participate in Tallahassee Solar, the City's largest electric customers will also be eligible. Commercial customers will be required to specify a fixed number of monthly kilowatt hours that will be designated as solar.
Customers who choose to purchase energy at the solar rate will pay 5 cents per kilowatt hour (kWh) in lieu of the cost of natural gas; this rate will remain fixed for the next 20 years. Billing for Tallahassee Solar will not begin until the solar farm is completed and delivering energy to the City's electric grid in fall 2017.
"We've heard from citizens that they want to have community solar," City Commissioner Curtis Richardson said. "Each household that participates at the 100 percent level will be helping to save nearly 6 tons of carbon dioxide from entering our Earth's atmosphere each year – that's the equivalent of planting 2.4 acres of new forest annually. This is another in our city leadership's efforts to make Tallahassee a Green Community."
Once complete, the solar farm will be one of the largest in the Sunshine State, capable of producing enough solar energy to power 3,400 homes and businesses in Tallahassee.
Planning is currently underway for a second, 40 (MW) megawatt solar farm. The completion of both solar farms will ultimately produce more than 30 times the amount of solar energy being produced in Tallahassee today.
Customers who are interested in receiving updates about Tallahassee Solar are encouraged to visit
Talgov.com/Solar and sign up to receive ongoing information about the program. For more information, please visit the solar webpage or call 891-4968.
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