For full article see WCTV May 10 2016
Tallahassee may not be getting a giant Mickey Mouse solar panel, but it will get a field of panels the City says could provide people with a more renewable type of energy.
“In about one year from now, we expect to have a 20 megawatts, which we call a utility-scale solar power plant,” said David Byrne, the Tallahassee Manager of electric system planting.
It’s an initiative some residents are excited about.
“I think it’s great that the city is considering moving to green energy and renewable energy,” said resident Patrick Kelly.
Byrne says the City is partnering with Origis Energy to install 80,000 solar panels in Tallahassee — that’s enough energy to power up more than 3,000 homes.
The solar farm will be built on the grounds of the Tallahassee International Airport. While some residents are happy about saving energy, others are more concerned about saving money.
“So if that cost goes up, of course most people will not want that but if the cost goes down they will want it. So it’s like a 50/50 chance right now so we’ll see we’ll have to wait and see what it does,” said resident Jara Baker.
But the City of Tallahassee said their customers won’t have to worry about higher bills.
“With this project we don’t expect rates are going to have to change at all. The project price is currently competitive with the rates we have right now,” said David Byrne.