Florida Power & Light and NASA working on solar installation at Kennedy Space Center
By Kristi E. Swartz, Palm Beach Post Staff Writer /
Juno Beach, FL, December 13, 2007
Florida Power & Light Co. said today it is working with NASA to put solar panels at the Kennedy Space Center as early as next year. FPL said the project would produce 10 megawatts of power, which would serve about 3,000 homes. FPL and NASA have signed a five-year memorandum of understanding to study whether it’s feasible to have the photovoltaic solar array, which would be on a 50-acre plot. The agreement also includes options for other renewable-energy projects, including biomass and wind power.
“We now have an exciting opportunity to work with NASA to bring more renewable energy to Florida,” FPL President Armando Olivera said in a statement. FPL’s sister company, FPL Energy LLC, owns the world’s largest solar array in the Mojave Desert. FPL Energy also is one of the nation’s top producers of wind power.
“The Kennedy Space Center is pleased to partner with our electric power provider to explore ways we can jointly improve the use of renewable energy in Florida,” said Michael J. Benik, operations director at the Kennedy Space Center. FPL, a division of Juno Beach-based FPL Group Inc. (NYSE: FPL, $70.02), said in September it wanted to build a 10-megawatt project somewhere in Florida as a prelude to the eventual installation 300 megawatts of solar power..
The utility went to Martin County officials today to ask for land-use changes that will let it build a small solar-power project at the Martin Power Plant near Indiantown. The 10-megawatt pilot project is one of several renewable-energy ideas FPL is considering for about 750 acres it owns around the power plant. FPL said it is considering using solar-thermal technology made by Ausra Inc., a Palo Alto, Calif.-based startup for those projects. The company is also reviewing technology from other vendors as well, officials have said.