OUC has earned the designation as the #1 solar “SunRiser” by the Southern Alliance for Clean Energy (SACE) for 2024. This is the sixth consecutive year that SACE has named OUC as a SunRiser among utilities in Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina and Tennessee.
“Recognition as a leader in advancing solar energy emphasizes our commitment to achieving net zero CO2 emissions by 2050, with interim reductions of 50% by 2030 and 75% by 2040,” said Linda Ferrone, OUC’s Chief Customer & Marketing Officer.
“Getting there requires a combination of sources, including utility-scale solar farms, community solar, panels on customer rooftops and innovative projects like floating solar arrays in retention ponds and other bodies of water.”
SunRisers exhibit the highest “solar ambition” among utilities in the southeast, which is measured by the increase in solar watts per customer (SWPC) ratio between the base year (2023) and the four-year forecast (2027), according to SACE’s Solar in the Southeast 2024 report.
OUC’s participation in the Florida Municipal Solar Project and plans to boost utility-scale solar capacity to more than 270 megawatts (MW) by 2025 played a role in earning the #1 position. SACE’s Solar in the Southeast: Seventh Edition report projects OUC reaching 1,799 SWPC by 2027, an increase of 1,201 SWPC from 2023.
Scheduled to open later this year are two new 74.5 MW solar farms that will more than double OUC’s solar generation capacity. In addition, the utility will be the sole recipient of the energy generated through a power purchase agreement. Once completed, the combined 271.5 MW of solar capacity will be enough to power 50,000 typical Florida homes.
This fall, OUC is installing the largest floating solar array in the southeastern United States. The 2MW system will be owned and operated by OUC and placed on a retention pond in southeast Orlando. This will be OUC’s third floating solar project.
Solar is the best renewable energy source available in Florida, the Sunshine State. However, because Central Florida experiences 277 days of partly cloudy weather, OUC is researching and developing battery energy storage systems, like one in St. Cloud. Essentially massive batteries, the systems store electricity produced by OUC’s solar arrays for use during cloudy daytime weather or at night.
Energy storage is critical to OUC’s efforts to improve the reliability of solar power as the utility moves toward generating more electricity from this renewable source.
OUC—The Reliable One provides electric, water, chilled water, lighting and solar services to more than 400,000 accounts in Orlando, St. Cloud and parts of unincorporated Orange County and Osceola County. As OUC prepares for the next century, it remains committed to a goal of achieving net zero carbon emissions by 2050 while supporting the Central Florida community with conservation, sustainability and energy efficiency resources.
