NEWS

March 12 (Renewables Now) – A 10-MW/40 MWh battery storage facility will work in combination with Florida Power & Light Co’s (FLP’s) 74.5-MW Babcock Ranch solar park in Florida, the utility said on Friday.

FLP, a subsidiary of NextEra Energy Inc (NYSE:NEE), explained that the battery system will dispatch power to the grid to compensate for dips in the photovoltaic (PV) park’s output, adding that this is now the biggest solar-plus-storage installation in the US.

The Babcock Ranch solar park in Florida’s Charlotte County has been generating electricity since 2016.

FPL, as well as other units of NextEra Energy, are conducting research and testing of various battery-storage technologies. The group of companies presently operates a total of 140 MW of batteries with over 150 MWh of storage capacity. In February, FPL incorporated a 4-MW/16-MWh energy storage system into its 74.5-MW Citrus Solar Energy Center in DeSoto County and is now testing more battery systems at other locations across its home state.

FPL intends to develop 50 MW of energy storage projects over the next few years. Currently, the company operates 14 PV parks in Florida with a combined capacity of 930 MW and in the autumn plans to start building four more plants totalling 298 MW, slated for commissioning next spring.

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