Florida Power & Light Plans To Build The World’s Largest Solar Battery Storage System

Florida Power & Light announced that it has big plans for its Manatee Energy Storage Center; it wants to make it the largest in the world.

The company wants to build a 409 MW battery that will be powered by the solar plant in Manatee County, Florida, capable of powering up 329,000 homes for two hours. The system is set to be used during periods of high demand and could become available to customers by 2021.

The Florida Power & Light is in a rush to shut down two of its 1970s era fossil fuel generation units, meet a cleaner energy goal and also add to that list “an additional $26 million in net-savings to FPL customers over the long-term”.

“This is a monumental milestone in realizing the full benefits of solar power and yet another example of how FPL is working hard to position Florida as the global gold standard for clean energy,” Florida Power & Light President and CEO Eric Silagy said. “Even as we aggressively execute on our plan to install 30 million solar panels by 2030, we never lose sight of finding innovative ways to bring our customers the benefits of solar energy, even when the sun’s not shining.”

The Manatee Energy Storage Center might prove to be the world’s largest solar powered battery but not without some healthy competition. Intersect Power LLC, also known as IP Juno, plans to build a 495 MW battery storage system in Texas, according to Bloomberg.

While the companies are fighting over who gets to build the largest solar-powered battery system, we should enjoy the ride, since it simply means more access to clean energy sources.