BlueChip Energy reported recently that it has started stage one of the Rinehart Solar Farm, which will generate about 10 megawatts of electricity. This will be sufficient to power about 1,100 average homes. The energy will be sold under a power purchase agreement to Progress Energy Florida.
The first stage of the project calls for a solar roof array that will generate 120 kilowatts and which is expected to be complete by July. The next stage of the project will generate 500 kilowatts of electricity. Later stages call for a 1.4 megawatt rooftop solar array, and 8 megawatts of ground-based photovoltaic arrays.
"We expect the Rinehart Solar Farm to serve as a model in the state of Florida for more large-scale, alternative-energy projects" said company spokesman Lawrence Hefler.
A number of other utility-scale solar energy projects are in various stages of development in Florida, as more companies work to take advantage of the state's ample sunshine and clear skies.
