FEATURE Tallahassee International Airport is home to two solar farms.
The Kenneth P. Ksionek Community Solar Farm at the Stanton Energy Center, on top of an Orlando Utilities Commission retired coal-ash landfill.
One of the Tallahassee buses in the all-electric fleet at Florida State University that the City operates.
PHOTOS COURTESY OF CITY OF ORLANDO (LEFT) AND CITY OF TALLAHASSEE
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ENVIRONMENT
Leading by Example Florida cities set 100% clean energy goals by Sheryl S. Jackson
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ore than 150 cities and counties across 37 states have established 100% clean commitments – clean electricity as well as other energy sources – while more than 72 communities have already achieved that target.1 The City of Orlando formalized its commitment to clean energy in 2017 with a program designed to move 100% of all city operations to clean energy by 2030 and to transition the City’s electrical grid to 100% renewable energy by 2050. A technical assistance grant from the National Renewable Energy Laboratory, a U.S. Department of Energy laboratory, provided the resources to develop and implement plans for city operations, said Chris Castro, Director of Sustainability and Resilience for the City. Rooftop solar installations at fire stations and community centers as well as solar carport canopies at city fleet and facilities operations centers are providing renewable energy. “There are some facilities for which solar is not feasible due to roof architecture or the surrounding tree canopy,” Castro said. These fire stations, park facilities and community centers are subscribed to solar farms administered through the city-owned utility. “In 2019, 2% of city operations were powered by solar; today, 14% of our facilities are powered by solar.” As the City moves to 100% clean energy, residents also have the opportunity to do so on an individual basis, said Castro. “Since 2016, eight cooperative solar farms have been established to support 24 QUALITY CITIES | FOURTH QUARTER 2021
residents who buy into the program, and 350 homes are powered by solar.” Residents who want to install solar panels on their homes can participate in a cooperative buying program supported by the City. Nonprofit organizations provide low-interest loans to support residents and small businesses that want to use clean energy sources. Cities that own their electric utilities have an advantage in the race to clean energy, said Tallahassee Mayor John E. Dailey. “Owning the utility allows us to be more efficient as we implement our plans to reach 100% clean energy for city operations by 2035 and for the community in 2050,” he said. “Tallahassee International Airport, which is owned and operated by the City, is home to two solar farms that total 450 acres and produce more than 60 megawatts of clean energy per year,” he said. “The airport’s solar farms make up the largest airport-based solar farm in the world.” The airport was honored with the 2021 FAC J. Bryan Cooper Environmental Award for its recent solar farm development, the completion of Solar Farm 2. Tallahassee Commissioners passed their clean energy resolution in 2019. Since then, the City has been transitioning cityowned light-duty vehicles to electric as well as some city bus routes. The City also owns and operates the buses that serve Florida State University (FSU). The FSU system is comprised of all-electric buses powered 100% by solar, which shows the feasibility of electric buses powered by clean energy, said Dailey.
