Will the new Lakeland solar farm lower or raise bills?
An article in The Ledger indicates Lakeland Electric has entered into an agreement to purchase energy from a 74.8 MW solar farm owned by Williams. [Work kicks off on Williams’ large-scale solar project in North Lakeland, March 9]
Lakeland Commissioner Stephanie Madden is quoted as saying that this is a responsible investment. Seth Blackwell says the city sees the system as both affordable and reliable.
Who we don’t hear from are the people responsible for dispatching Lakeland Electric’s power. I have no idea how these people are going to economically fit this new, must-use-solar-farm into the existing energy supply system (fleet).
What the average electric power consumer wants is reliability and low cost. Solar farms are not reliable (dispatchable) due to their inherent variability in energy output based on weather conditions and time of day. The article does not indicate the impact on customer bills. Lakeland Electric needs to be transparent and indicate if the solar farm will lower or raise the cost of energy.
What about people concerned with carbon dioxide emissions? Per Bill Gates’ book “How to Avoid a Climate Disaster,” worldwide power generation contributes 26% to carbon dioxide emissions. The impact of a 74.8 MW design (18 MW average) solar farm on climate change would be insignificant.
Edward McDonald, Auburndale
While it may or may not raise bills, it helps break the grip of fossil fuels which are not inexhaustible.