Central Florida Homeowners Turn to Solar as Large-Scale Projects Expand

ORLANDO, Fla. — Central Florida is seeing rapid growth in massive solar farms, offering cleaner energy and a push toward a greener future.

What You Need To Know

Large solar farms are expanding across Central Florida, generating clean energy but not reducing consumer electricity bills.
Orlando Utilities Commission (OUC) operates four major solar arrays around Orlando, producing enough power for thousands of homes.
Homeowners can lower costs by installing personal solar systems, which typically pay for themselves over several years.
Florida ranks third nationwide in installed solar capacity, with clean energy expected to become more affordable over time.
Utility-scale solar continues to grow, even as consumers report rising monthly energy bills.

Solar farms are spreading across Central Florida, converting sunlight into electricity.

“If you think about it, all the power for our entire planet comes from the sun,” said Justin Kramer, director of emerging technologies for the Orlando Utilities Commission (OUC).

The utility has constructed four large solar arrays around Orlando, generating about 74.5 megawatts, enough electricity to power roughly 16,000 homes for a year.

“You know, we’re in the winter months, so the days are shorter. We’re getting less solar every day. But we still need to power your homes every day, 24/7,” Kramer said. “But all of that technology has cost considerations. It has integration technology considerations. My team really works to figure out how to bring all of that together for our customers.”

Solar experts say homeowners only benefit directly from solar energy by installing panels on their own properties.

At one Orlando home being prepared for solar, the system will generate enough electricity to run everything, including air conditioning, around the clock.

Homeowner Rafael Ferrer said, “So, looking at the numbers and what can I do to fight this? You know, solar was my option. And that’s what I took.”

Any unused electricity can be sold back to the utility.

Nathan Traynor, owner of Castaways Energy, explained how that works.

“For example, this homeowner is paying around $400 a month for his power bill. He’s only going to pay about $30 now. So that $300, $370 a month that he’s saving is going to pay for this system in seven years.”

Florida ranks as the third-largest state in the country for installed solar capacity.

“You know, everybody thinks about Florida as the Sunshine State,” Kramer said. “But in all reality, we’re the partly cloudy state 277 days a year; we are partly cloudy or mostly cloudy. Every time that cloud rolls over the solar array, it adjusts the production of that solar array.”

Experts say clean energy production is expected to become more cost-effective in the coming years.

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