Jacksonville Beach, Fla. — Beaches Energy joins the U.S. Green Chamber of Commerce North Florida Chapter as one of the newest member organizations working together to create environmentally friendly, sustainable business practices.
Beaches Energy supports the mission of the Green Chamber of Commerce with its efforts to encourage and educate customers on energy conservation and protecting the environment, and with its commitment to building one of the largest municipal-backed solar projects in the United States, in partnership with 12 other Florida utilities.
Beaches Energy knows customers want to conserve energy, lower their bills and help protect the environment. To accomplish this, Beaches Energy offers various energy conservation programs from free residential energy audits to assist customers in identifying energy saving opportunities and rebates that help offset the costs of purchasing higher efficiency heat pumps, insulation, window film/tinting, solar water heaters and heat pump water heaters. Beaches Energy also offers energy-efficient lighting rebates for commercial customers.
In May 2018, as part of its commitment to customers, Beaches Energy along with 12 other Florida cities, committed to building one of the largest municipal-backed solar projects in the United States. Approximately 900,000 solar panels will be installed on three solar sites expected to be built in Osceola and Orange Counties. Combined, the three solar sites will total approximately 1,200 acres, or the equivalent of 900 football fields filled with solar panels.
Total electricity output will be 223.5 megawatts, which is enough energy to power 45,000 typical Florida homes. With 12 cities working together, we can collectively build larger, more efficient solar installations. The power output from this project will be equal to 37,250 average-size rooftop solar systems. In addition, the ground-mounted solar panels for this project will be installed with a computer-controlled tracking system to follow the sun daily as it moves from east to west, maximizing power output.
As a result, the cost of solar energy from this project is about one-third the cost of a typical private, rooftop system. Beaches Energy’s share of this project is 10 Mega-watts (enough to power 6,500 homes). After an estimated 18-month permitting process, construction is expected to begin in early 2020 and should be operational by June 30, 2020.
Lastly, Beaches Energy along with other Florida cities is currently seeking partners to obtain an additional 10 mega-watts (MW) of solar.
For more information on U.S. Green Chamber of Commerce North Florida, visit https://usgreenchamber.com/chapters/the-north-florida-chapter/.
About Beaches Energy Services
Beaches Energy Services provides electric and natural gas service to more than 35,000 customers in Jacksonville Beach, Ponte Vedra Beach, Palm Valley and Neptune Beach, Florida. For more than 100 years, we have provided utility services for the people and businesses that have chosen our beach community as their place to live, work and play.