TAVARES – Lake County commissioners are exploring including floating solar panels in their comprehensive land use plan.
The commissioners agreed on May 21 to place a legal advertisement about the measure. The measure will go up for a second reading on June 25.
“We have not had a presentation on floating solar and have no details on its operation, costs, return on investment or logistics,” said provincial spokeswoman Sarah Lux.
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However, the idea is catching fire, including in Orange County, where floating panels provide electricity to 25 percent of a water plant serving 80,000 residents.
Carrie Black, Orange County’s chief sustainability officer, told WESH-TV News in March that the panels covering two acres of water will reach their return on investment within 11 years. Solar panels last about 25 years.
“We want to replicate this in many of our facilities with utilities and also across the province,” she said.
Floating solar panels are not only installed in Orange County. Duke Energy has installed 1,872 panels on a 1,200-acre pond in Bartow, Polk County.
“We’re looking at a variety of creative ways to be more sustainable and reliably meet customers’ energy needs,” project manager Shayna White said on a Duke Energy website.
The floating panels have an advantage over traditional panels. The Bartow panels absorb light from both sides, allowing 10 to 20 percent more power to be produced.
The location in Bartow is a former phosphate mine.
One of the additional benefits is that the panels prevent water evaporation and cool the temperature of the water. That could be especially useful in places like Nevada and California.
The proposed Lake County ordinance was presented to the Planning & Zoning Board and unanimously recommended for approval on May 1, Lux said.
A copy of the proposed ordinance was presented April 25 to the Affordable Housing Advisory Committee and the Home Builders Association of Lake-Sumter.
State law requires local governments to include floating solar panels in comprehensive land use regulations.
Provincial regulations are being created to encourage the use of solar energy and other clean alternatives.
This article originally appeared in The Gainesville Sun: Lake County land use plan could include floating solar panels
