The Orlando Utilities Commission (OUC) has started a project to install a network of around two dozen weather stations scattered around it’s service territory to provide high resolution real-time measurements to study cloud formation and movement and to help with development of intra-hour forecasting in support of integrating increasingly greater amounts of solar PV into […]
Bill filed would expand Florida property owners’ rights to install and use solar PV
On Jan. 3rd, Senator Jose’ Javier Rodriguez (District 37, Miami-Dade) introduced Senate Bill (SB) 222, to allow property owners more latitude in the installation and use of solar PV. Specifically, the bill changes the definition Excerpts of some of the language capturing the essence of the bill are as follows: —— “An act relating to […]
Commissioner Nikki Fried Inaugurated as 12th Florida Commissioner of Agriculture and Consumer Services
Nikki Fried was inaugurated today as the 12th Florida Commissioner of Agriculture and Consumer Services. In Florida, the Office of Energy (a key FAASSTeR project partner) is located within the Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services. Ensuring Florida does its part to build a sustainable future is a priority for Commissioner Fried, including increasing renewable energy […]
NREL Releases Report Benchmarking Costs of Utility-Scale Solar PV and Energy Storage
The National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) recently released the the report “2018 U.S. Utility-Scale Photovoltaics-Plus-Energy Storage System Costs Benchmark”. The report provides results of NREL’s first bottom-up study to model and benchmark the installed costs of various standalone lithium-ion storage (with storage connected to the grid only) and PV-plus-storage (with storage connected to PV and […]
Utility Crews Restoring Power Following Michael
Hurricane Michael made landfall Wed., 10/10/2018 at 12:15 CDT near Mexico Beach, FL, as the strongest storm on record to hit the Florida Panhandle, a Category 4 hurricane with 155 mph winds and pressure of 919 mbar. In the aftermath, over 1 million utility customers in the Southeastern U.S. were estimated to have lost power, […]
Orlando Utility Commission launches OUCollective Solar program
The OUCollective Solar program makes it easier and more affordable for customers to choose solar power. Pick My Solar, the technology partner of OUCollective Solar, provides an online platform for this program. Central Florida company esaSolar designs and installs turnkey solar photovoltaic (PV) systems at a discounted price using OUC’s collective buying power. https://westorlandonews.com/ouc-launches-program-to-help-local-homeowners-go-solar/ https://ouc-collective.com/
The 50 States of Solar Report Released by NC Clean Energy Tech Center
The 50 States of Solar Report: Q2 2018 Update – released today by NCCETC Raleigh, N.C. – (July 25, 2018) The N.C. Clean Energy Technology Center (NCCETC) released its Q2 2018 edition of The 50 States of Solar. The quarterly series provides insights on state regulatory and legislative discussions and actions on distributed solar policy, […]
OUC Engineer Among IREC 2018 3iAward Recipients Announced at Intersolar
Young Clean Energy Innovators of the Year Rubin York, Orlando Utilities Commission As an emerging technology engineer at Orlando Utilities Commission (OUC), Rubin researches technologies, designs experiments and tests new products and materials in renewable energy and energy conservation. While at the University of Central Florida (UCF) he analyzed wind data, then created his own vertical […]
OUC tests solar panels
The Orlando Utilities Commission is testing five different types of solar panels to see which solar panel performs best. Temperature readings will indicate which one of the panels brings in the most energy the most efficiently. The test site has 40 panels now but plans to double that number in the future. Renewable energy accounts […]
Large-scale solar energy project in the works for Florida municipal electric utilities
Solar energy is trending! Florida Municipal Power Agency (FMPA) announced plans for the “Florida Municipal Solar Project.” Three solar projects, totaling 223.5 MW, and planned to be located in central Florida’s Orange and Osceola Counties, will be developed by NextEra Florida Renewables, a subsidiary of NextEra Energy. FMPA will coordinate the project, working with NextEra, and […]