Marathon Solar Array: 96.6 kilowatt max. capacity

If you noticed a slight green glow from your lights recently it’s because Florida Keys Electric Cooperative is now adding “green power” to the local power system with the first grid-tied photovoltaic array in the Florida Keys.  FKEC’s array is also the second largest in the state of Florida, according to installer Nettles Electric. The array is capturing the sun’s energy to help power homes and businesses served by FKEC’s Marathon Substation.

In 2008, FKEC applied for and received $1 million worth of funding from the Internal Revenue Service’s Clean Renewable Energy Bond program, administered by the CFC. FKEC used the bond to install approximately 120 total kilowatts of solar power generation.  The Marathon project is the first phase with a maximum capacity of 96.6 kilowatts.  The second phase inside FKEC’s Crawl Key Substation has a maximum capacity of 21 kilowatts.

The first panels in the Marathon array were connected to FKEC’s power grid in November 2008 and the entire array went online December 16.

"FKEC is committed to finding alternative energy solutions and we are proud to be adding clean, green power to our system," said CEO Scott Newberry.

Crawl Key Solar Array: 21 kilowatt max. capacity

Combined, the two solar arrays will provide all the annual energy needs for approximately 14 homes.

"We are continually looking ahead and are hoping that with increased demand from utilities like FKEC, solar power generation will become more cost effective," said Newberry.

The cooperative's solar project is in part a response to Florida Gov. Charlie Crist's request that 20 percent of the state’s energy be provided through renewable resources by 2020.

Newberry noted that the 20 percent goal is going to be hard to meet in the Keys where appropriate solar power generation sites are difficult to find. Solar generation requires large areas of cleared land that must be in the sun all day, without any shadows or shade. If a shadow falls across one panel, all the other panels connected to it in series stop producing energy.

FKEC’s first solar array is installed on a half-acre field that was already owned by FKEC adjacent to its Marathon Operations Center. 

The Marathon array consists of 552 separate 175-watt solar modules tied directly into FKEC’s electric grid, and the Crawl Key array adds an additional 120 panels. The output of both arrays is expected to be approximately 127,000 kilowatt hours per year, or less than 1 percent of the roughly 700 million kilowatt hours FKEC sells annually.

“We are proud to be exploring green energy solutions and hope the next generation solar module will be more efficient and less expensive,” Newberry said.  “We are also interested in wind power and the possibilities of tidal energy development. We see this project as a first step in the right direction.”

The performance of the array from that date to present can be viewed by clicking the link at the top or bottom of this page.    

The information is updated daily and includes details about the solar array’s performance, including daily, monthly and cumulative energy production. The data website also converts the energy production values into equivalents, such as the amount of CO2 emissions saved by the generation of solar power versus traditional power generation.

The data website also provides graphs showing the daily energy production of the array plotted along with the amount of sunshine available (called irradiance) throughout the course of the day.