Florida's solar turnaround sparks concerns over limits on community projects

A remarkable turnaround is happening with Florida solar. And while it's still evolving, it's also eliciting concerns in a number of areas. As recently as 2015, the Sunshine State was headed toward over-reliance on natural gas, according to the Union of Concerned Scientists. That year, utilities and solar advocates faced off over a ballot initiative on solar leasing which was defeated in the 2016 election. But then things changed. Florida Power and Light (FPL), the biggest of Florida's three top investor-owned utilities (IOUs), is targeting over 8 GW of utility-scale solar by 2030. Duke Energy Florida (DEF) has committed to 700 MW and Tampa Electric Company (TECO) has committed to 600 MW, both by 2022. The Orlando Utilities Commission (OUC) has seen 150% distributed solar growth per year for the past four years. And the state sees promise of even more growth, for distributed solar specifically. In 2018, the Florida Public Service Commission bypassed political turmoil and made solar leasing available to distributed solar customers who choose not to invest the upfront capital to own their arrays.