A Melbourne firm announced Monday it will build a major solar-energy project in Gadsden County, promising to dot undeveloped areas with 20 solar “farms.”
National Solar Power, which plans to eventually generate 400 megawatts of electricity at the sites, chose Gadsden over Hardee, Osceola and Suwannee counties. Also, it earlier considered building in Georgia and North Carolina.
The company plans to sell the power to Progress Energy Florida and possibly other utilities. Chief Executive Officer James Scrivener said the project will create 400 jobs during construction and another 120 permanent jobs after the facilities are built.
“Wow,” David Gardner, executive director of the Gadsden County Chamber of Commerce, said during an announcement outside the Old Capitol. “We are humbled and honored beyond belief today.”
The company touts the project as the largest in the Southeast and says it has a price tag of about $1.5 billion. The concept is to build 20 solar farms on 200-acre sites across the largely rural North Florida county, with each farm producing 20 megawatts of energy.
But the project will take years to fully develop, with National Solar Power hoping to break ground on the first site during the first three months of 2012. It is negotiating to buy and lease land, needs environmental permits and must nail down financing.
Scrivener said the company likely will announce another project in Hardee County and ultimately hopes to build in other areas of the state. Gadsden County political leaders and state lawmakers joined company officials for Monday’s announcement, which came under a baking sun.
“This is what you call smart growth and development,” Gadsden County Commission Chairwoman Sherrie Taylor said.
Scrivener said the project will be privately financed but that the company could seek state help with issues such as permitting and property taxes. He said officials met with Gov. Rick Scott, who indicated he would help speed up a Department of Environmental Protection permitting process.
When the solar farms start operating, Scrivener said they should not increase costs for utility ratepayers. He said National Solar’s prices will be based on what it would otherwise cost a utility to generate power with fuels such as natural gas.
By Jim Saunders
