Duke Energy begins construction on floating solar pilot in Florida

On Thursday, Duke Energy Florida announced it was beginning construction on its first floating solar pilot.

The almost 1-megawatt floating solar array will be built in Polk County on an estimated 2 acres of water surface and feature more than 1,800 floating solar modules, officials said. The pilot will be built on an existing cooling pond at the Duke Energy Hines Energy Complex in Bartow.

“We’re excited to get hands-on experience with Duke Energy Florida’s first floating solar project at one of our own power plant sites,” Melissa Seixas, Duke Energy Florida president, said. “Unique pilots like floating solar are helping us better understand the capabilities of innovative clean energy technologies that can benefit our Florida customers and communities now and in the future.”

The module floating system will be constructed and assembled on land in segments before crews move it into the water and secure it with anchors. The company estimates the project will take five to six months.

Duke said the pilot is part of its Vision Florida program, designed to test innovative technology like microgrids and battery energy storage, among others, to prepare for the clean energy power grid of the future.

Duke Energy Florida is a subsidiary of Duke Energy and owns 10,500 megawatts of energy capacity, which supplies electricity to nearly 2 million residential, commercial, and industrial customers across a 13,000-square-mile area in Florida.