THE ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AND GROWTH MANAGEMENT DEPARTMENT AND ENVIRONMENTAL PLANNING AND COMMUNITY RESILIENCE DIVISION RECOMMEND APPROVAL OF THE ABOVE MOTION.
This item supports the County Commission's Value: Encouraging investments in renewable energy, sustainable practices, and environmental protection; and the Goal to: Seek funding for, implement policies, and pursue projects promoting, the use of alternative energies and sustainable practices.
In late 2018, Florida Power & Light Company ("FPL") announced its intention to create the SolarTogether program (the "Program"), subject to approval by the Florida Public Service Commission ("PSC"), that would allow interested customers to subscribe for a fee to a given capacity of solar panels and to receive bill credits based on the amount of electricity generated by those panels. During its December 11, 2018, meeting, the Board of County Commissioners approved Item No. 42, authorizing the County Administrator to preregister Broward County ("County") in the Program for the maximum allocation deemed appropriate by County Administration after performing due diligence. After analysis by staff, the County Administrator determined that a subscription of 132 megawatts would be the maximum appropriate allocation and preregistered with the Program. This subscription covers not only electricity consumed by General Fund agencies, but also the three enterprise funds: Port Everglades, Aviation, and Water and Wastewater Services. The potential exists for the County to receive this full allocation in the first year of the Program.
While the County continues to pursue installation of rooftop solar and solar canopy systems on County facilities, current efforts are focused on eight priority sites that would produce two megawatts of total capacity. That electricity generation capacity would only offset approximately 1.5% of the County's electricity consumption, and the County's overall energy demands are expected to increase as programs and services expand. Although the County may identify additional suitable locations for solar installations on County facilities, further solar opportunities are limited due to the age of existing roofs, energy demands of individual sites, lack of land available for ground-mounted systems, and overall cost of parking canopies. Therefore, the County must utilize a combination of strategies to meet our renewable energy goal of 20% by 2020. The Program provides an attractive opportunity to achieve and exceed the County's renewable energy portfolio in an accelerated and cost-effective manner.
In addition to allowing the County to source 100% of its electricity from renewable sources, the Program will very likely provide a long-term financial benefit to the County. In relationship to the Program's subscription fee, the credited rate increases annually. This means that by year eight, the Program should be a net financial gain for the County at any subscription level, with net positive fiscal impacts every year thereafter. Over the 30-year lifetime of the Program, the County could expect to earn over $46,000,000 (in current dollars) from a 132-megawatt subscription.
As a regulated utility, FPL cannot initiate this Program without the approval of the PSC. FPL's petition to create the Program and the associated tariff is filed as PSC Docket No. 20190061. This Resolution expresses the County's interest in the Program and urges the PSC to approve it. It also provides for transmittal of the Resolution to the Chair and Clerk of the PSC and filing in PSC Docket No. 20190061.
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