Florida Commission Reports 52 Percent Increase in Consumer-Owned Renewables Installations

Customer-owned renewable generation installations across Florida increased by about 52 percent from 2019 to 2020, reaching 90,552 interconnections, according to electric utility reports filed with the Florida Public Service Commission. Electric generation capacity from customer-sited systems rose by 62 percent over the same period to reach 837,160 kilowatts, showing that solar continues to be the preferred renewable energy choice.

Investor-owned utilities accounted for more than 71,500 interconnections – representing nearly 80 percent of the total in 2020 and an approximately 56 percent increase from the prior year. Municipal providers and rural electric cooperatives accounted for the remainder, representing a 37 percent and 40 percent increase, respectively, from 2019.

The number of renewable energy systems has increased more than 15,500 percent since 2008, when Florida’s legislature adopted net metering, allowing customers with grid-connected solar to exchange excess generation for kilowatt-hour credits, and required certain investor-owned utilities to offer an expedited interconnection agreement process. The law authorized consumer-owned renewable resources to be included in state energy and climate goals, objectives, and policies and banned condominiums from prohibiting renewable energy devices.

Renewable energy supplied about four percent of Florida’s net generation in 2019, with most of the generation sourced from solar energy and biomass, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration. Florida ranked fifth in the U.S. in total solar power generating capacity at the end of 2019, and utility- and small-scale installations contributed over half the state’s net renewable generation.