TALLAHASSEE — Consumer confidence in generating and using renewable energy continued to increase this year, according to electric utility reports filed with the Florida Public Service Commission (PSC). Customer-owned renewable generation installations increased approximately 57 percent this past year, rising from 37,862 interconnections in 2018 to 59,508 in 2019. Statewide, electric generation capacity from customer-owned renewable energy systems reached 514,503 kilowatts (kW), an approximate 62 percent increase over 2018. Solar photovoltaic panels continue to be the most popular renewable choice.

Florida’s PSC amended its rules in 2008, making it easier for customers to interconnect their systems with the utility’s grid and allowing net metering. The PSC’s net metering rule promotes development of customer-owned renewable generation by establishing a billing mechanism that allows customers to offset their usage through the self-generation of energy, with any excess energy delivered to the grid being applied as a kilowatt-hour credit to the customer’s monthly energy usage. In the decade following the adoption of the net metering rule, the number of renewable systems has increased from 577 to 59,508 interconnections, or more than 10,300%.

Florida’s investor-owned utilities (IOUs)–Florida Power & Light Company, Duke Energy Florida, LLC, Tampa Electric Company, Gulf Power Company, and Florida Public Utilities Company–are required by the rule to offer an expedited interconnection agreement process so that homeowners and businesses interested in generating their own energy can do so quickly and safely.

Municipal electric utilities and rural electric cooperatives that sell electricity at retail are also required, by statute, to provide a standardized interconnection agreement and net metering program for customer-owned renewable generation systems.

Florida’s utilities reported the following information on customer-owned renewable generation for 2015-2019.

Individual utility reports on customer-owned renewable systems and summary data are available on the PSC’s website.

Customers interested in learning more about interconnecting renewable generation systems or net metering should contact their local utility.

Follow the PSC on Twitter, @floridapsc.