Solar energy is booming throughout the United States, with Florida catching up with industries in Texas and California for the first time.
Although the official national policy of 2024 eliminates climate change from its official national policy, Florida’s utility-scale solar is higher than last year’s solar power and surpasses that of 3 GW New capacity for internet access.
“This is not fluorine,” said Sylvia Leyva Martinez, senior analyst at Wood Mackenzie. “Florida is now shaping the national solar growth.”
The surge is powered by utilities, not roof panels. Florida Electricity & Light Last year alone, only more than 70% of the state’s new solar energy was built. A state rule allows developers to skip lengthy site selection reviews for projects below 75 MW, speeding up construction and cutting costs.
“There are no silver bullets,” said Syd Kitson, founder of Babcock Ranch. “But one of the right things in Florida is to accept it.” Here, people want solar energy. We prove it works. ”
Babcock ranch runs on its own microgrid Stay online during Hurricane Ian in 2022 Much of southwestern Florida has become darker.
“We didn’t lose electricity, the internet or water,” said homeowner Don Bishop. “It changes your perception of energy.”
Economics is doing the rest. With rising industrial demand and rising gas prices, solar energy is the cheapest option even without subsidies.
“Utilities are not building solar energy because it’s green,” Martinez said. “They do it because it’s cheap.”
But new challenges are emerging.
In July, President Trump signed A big bill, This accelerates the rollback of solar and wind tax credits. Homeowners lost federal investment credit after 2025. Developers face stricter deadlines and stricter procurement rules.
“It won’t kill the market,” said Zoë Gaston, an analyst with the solar industry in Wood Mackenzie. “But that makes math work harder.”
Analysts are expecting now 42% decrease Rooftop solar installations in Florida over the next five years. While the growth of utility size continues, grid restrictions are becoming a problem. Utilities are dumping funds into storage, smart infrastructure and grid upgrades to keep up.
Babcock Ranch is driving a new microgrid system to increase resilience. Hopefully other communities can pick up the script and adapt it, once a weatherproof community once a block.
“We’ve tested it for years,” Kitson said. “Now it’s about scale. It’s about showing others that they can do it, too.”
The bigger question is whether Florida can maintain this momentum without policy support while still leaning towards natural gas.
“Florida has the sun’s resources,” said Mark Jacobson, a professor in the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering at Stanford University. “What is missing is political consistency.”
Watch the video to learn how Florida is a solar leader and what might slow down.
