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National Solar to Build 200 MW Solar Energy Farm in Florida

  • Nov 30 (Reuters) - National Solar Power said it will spend $700 million to develop a 200-megawatt solar farm in Florida's Hardee County, making it the company's second project in the state that has one of the highest per-capita electricity demand in the country.
  • The utility-scale solar power provider plans to build 10 200-acre farms, each costing $70 million. Its first Florida project is in the Gadsden County.
  • "Florida is the new frontier when it comes to solar farm development," Chief Executive James Scrivener said in a statement.
  • The first phase of the Hardee project is expected to be up and running within 6-7 months of breaking ground, once appropriate local and state permitting process is completed.
  • The project is expected to create 200 jobs during the five-year construction phase and up to 50 permanent operations jobs, the company said.
  • National Solar said it was negotiating with several large financial institutions and private equity investors to provide financing for the project.
  • It has already entered into an agreement with Progress Energy's Florida arm to sell power from the Hardee project, and is in discussions with other potential customers.
  • National Solar, the 3-year-old company that has power supply agreements for more than 3,000 megawatts in the Southeastern United States, said it has formed a company named Green Infrastructure Partners LLC to help fund renewable energy projects.
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