The Rice Creek Solar Center is the third solar site in the Florida Municipal Solar Project, one of the largest municipal-backed solar projects in the U.S.
One of the largest municipal-backed solar projects in the U.S. just completed the project’s third installation, Rice Creek Solar Center, which will supply nearly 75 MW to 12 cities in Florida.
The Rice Creek Solar Center is part of Florida Municipal Solar Project. In conjunction with the Florida Municipal Power Agency (FMPA) and electric utilities, developer Origis Energy will deliver the projects.
“This is the third solar project in larger agreement with FMPA,” Josh Teigiser, Origis Energy’s managing director of origination and clean energy, told pv magazine USA. “When complete, the portfolio of projects included in the Florida Municipal Solar Project is expected to increase to seven sites over the next few years and will generate approximately 525 MWac of power in total.”
Rice Creek Solar consists of 213,000 solar panels made by First Solar and Boviet, Sungrow inverters, and Array trackers. The project will generate enough power for approximately 14,000 homes.
At peak construction, Rice Creek Solar supplied approximately 300 jobs for construction workers.
“FMPA is doing all it can to bring cost-effective clean energy to a large base of customers in the Sunshine state,” Teigiser said. “Long-term agreements for solar generation, including for Rice Creek Solar, provide a stable rate base contributing to lower and more predictable customers’ bills.”
Rice Creek Solar will supply power to:
- Jacksonville Beach,
- Fort Pierce,
- Homestead,
- Key West,
- Kissimmee,
- Lake Worth Beach,
- Mount Dora,
- New Smyrna Beach,
- Newberry,
- Ocala,
- Havana and
- Winter Park.
Rice Creek Solar is Havana, New Smyrna Beach and Newberry’s first solar project.
Construction began at the end of 2024 for the Florida Municipal Solar Project’s fourth site, Whistling Duck Solar, which will be located in Levy County.
