The Space Coast Next Generation Solar Energy Center is a 10
megawatt
The watt (symbol: W) is the unit of power or radiant flux in the International System of Units (SI), equal to 1 joule per second or 1 kg⋅m2⋅s−3. It is used to quantify the rate of energy transfer. The watt is named after Jame ...
(MW)
solar photovoltaic
A photovoltaic system, also PV system or solar power system, is an electric power system designed to supply usable solar power by means of photovoltaics. It consists of an arrangement of several components, including solar panels to absorb and co ...
(PV) facility at the
Kennedy Space Center
The John F. Kennedy Space Center (KSC, originally known as the NASA Launch Operations Center), located on Merritt Island, Florida, is one of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration's (NASA) ten field centers. Since December 196 ...
, Florida.
[FPL Launches 10-MW Space Coast PV Project]
(April 9, 2010) ''Renewable Energy World''. Commissioned in April 2010, the center is the result of a partnership between
NASA
The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA ) is an independent agency of the US federal government responsible for the civil space program, aeronautics research, and space research.
NASA was established in 1958, succeedi ...
and
Florida Power & Light
Florida Power & Light Company (FPL), the principal subsidiary of NextEra Energy Inc. (formerly FPL Group, Inc.), is the largest power utility in Florida. It is a Juno Beach, Florida-based power utility company serving roughly 5 million custome ...
. The facility has approximately 35,000 solar photovoltaic panels from
SunPower
SunPower is an American provider of photovoltaic solar energy generation systems and battery energy storage products, primarily for residential customers. The company, headquartered in San Jose, California, was founded in 1985 by Richard Sw ...
covering an area of 60 acres. The facility provides slightly less than one percent of the power needed to keep Kennedy Space Center up and running.
A 1 MW solar photovoltaic array is also located at the Kennedy Space Center.
Solar Power Plant at Kennedy Supplying Electricity to Floridians
/ref>
The Space Coast Next Generation Solar Energy Center was the second largest-scale solar facility in Florida, with the 25 MW DeSoto Next Generation Solar Energy Center
The DeSoto Next Generation Solar Energy Center is a photovoltaic power station in Arcadia, Florida, Arcadia, DeSoto County, Florida, DeSoto County, in the U.S. state of Florida, owned by Florida Power & Light (FPL).
President Barack Obama attended ...
being the largest,[ until the construction of the 75 MW Martin Next Generation Solar Energy Center.
]
Production
See also
*Copper Mountain Solar Facility
The Copper Mountain Solar Facility is a 802 megawatt (MW AC) solar photovoltaic power plant in Boulder City, Nevada, United States. The plant was developed by Sempra Generation. When the first unit of the facility entered service on Dece ...
*List of photovoltaic power stations
The following is a list of photovoltaic power stations that are larger than 300 megawatts (MW) in current net capacity.Note that nominal power may be AC or DC, depending on the plant, and therefore any totals quoted are hybrid. SeAC-DC conundru ...
*Renewable energy in the United States
According to preliminary data from the US Energy Information Administration, renewable energy accounted for about 12.6% of total primary energy consumption and about 19.8% of the domestically produced electricity in the United States in 2 ...
* Renewable portfolio standard
*Solar power in the United States
Solar power includes solar farms as well as local distributed generation, mostly on rooftops and increasingly from community solar arrays. In 2021, utility-scale solar power generated 115 terawatt-hours (TWh), or 2.8% of electricity in t ...
References
{{Solar power in the United States
Buildings and structures in Merritt Island, Florida
NextEra Energy
NASA
Photovoltaic power stations in the United States
Kennedy Space Center