Alternative Energy
Green energy growth | Research
and development programs | Solar
energy in the Sunshine State | Photovoltaic power | Solar
thermal systems in business | Related sites
FPL is pioneering efforts to develop renewable and alternative
energy sources for customers. In particular, we engage in
Green energy growth
Presently, Florida depends on renewable or “green” energy
for about 1 percent of its electricity needs. Because of FPL’s
efforts, this percentage may eventually grow. The company believes
that greater use of conservation and cost-effective renewable resources
is good for our nation and that the ongoing evaluation of emerging
clean energy technologies is a worthy pursuit.
Not only does FPL have research and development programs that
evaluate emerging energy technologies including renewable energy,
the company currently uses renewable resources as part of its energy
mix. For example, most of FPL’s biomass resources are in
Florida, where electricity is purchased from power plants that
produce energy using fuel from
- solid waste
- landfill gas
- waste paper and
- sugar cane wastes.
These plants are located in
- Broward
- Palm Beach
- Volusia and
- Putnam counties.
Research and development programs
In addition, FPL has research and development programs that evaluate
emerging energy technologies including renewable energy. Here are
some examples:
- A photovoltaic research and development program looking
at a technology that replaces existing roofing materials such as
shingles with photovoltaic materials. This program, which is focused
on test installations at two universities and five homes, is aligned
with the federal government’s “Million Solar Roofs” initiative.
-
In response to customer interest, FPL introduced a “green
energy” program – Sunshine
Energy – where customers can choose to purchase and support clean
power initiatives.
- Thanks in part to customer support, FPL installed a 10 kw photovoltaic
system at the Martin Plant in Palm Beach County in 1998.
- FPL supports other developing cleaner energy technologies, including
industry research and development on fuel cells and micro-turbines.
Solar energy in the Sunshine State
Solar power is an exciting emerging technology. It is environmentally-friendly
because it produces no emissions or noise. It’s fueled by
one of Florida’s most abundant resources – the sun.
But while energy from the sun is virtually limitless, it’s
expensive to convert to usable electricity in Florida. In addition,
geography is a key determining factor in the use and potential
cost effectiveness of large-scale generation using renewable energy
sources such as solar power.
Both wind and solar power production are very land-intensive. Florida’s land use opportunities are limited by its
- large urban centers
- extensive shorelines
- in-land agriculture and
- environmentally sensitive wetlands.
Though nicknamed the “sunshine state,” Florida has too much cloud cover to make large-scale solar power production a cost effective alternative.
Wind power generally requires sustained winds of 12 mph or stronger,
making America’s deserts and mountain ranges more likely
places for wind energy technologies than Florida.
As a result of the limitations to large-scale solar and wind production
in Florida, FPL displaces fossil fuels through greater use of conservation
as a way to contribute to a cleaner environment.
Over the past two decades, FPL has helped customers in Florida
reduce their overall energy equal to 10 medium-sized power plants. FPL energy
efficiency incentives paid
For more information, visit Solar
Research Frequently Asked Questions.
Photovoltaic power
Photovoltaic systems directly convert sunlight into electricity
using solid state technology. Photovoltaics are also called solar
cells. All solar power generated feeds directly into FPL’s
electric grid system and then into your home or business. During
operation, a photovoltaic system does not create noise because
there are no movable parts, and no pollution or hazardous wastes
are generated because no fuel is burned.
Some residential customers who want alternatives to traditional
electricity sources as a lifestyle choice are purchasing photovoltaic
systems of their own from independent suppliers for home use. These
systems are presently expensive to install and the payback is decades
long. However, many of these systems also are capable of connecting
to FPL’s power grid and can return excess generation to the
company.
Solar thermal systems in business
Solar thermal systems use solar radiation directly to generate
electricity. The parabolic trough is the leading solar thermal
electric technology used today. The table below describes this
process.
Other solar thermal systems include central-receiver technology,
which uses mirrors to focus the sun’s energy on a central
receiver, and parabolic dishes in small-scale application.
|
State
|
Description
|
|
1
|
Sunlight is focused on a tub carrying a heat absorbing fluid,
such as oil. |
|
2
|
The fluid circulates through a boiler where its heat is used
to boil water to steam. |
|
3
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The steam is routed to a turbine to generate electricity. |
Related sites
The following sites give you additional information:
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