Florida’s renewable resources supplied about 10% of the state’s in-state electricity net generation in 2024, and nearly nine-tenths of that renewable generation came from solar. The state ranked third nationally in total solar generating capacity in 2024, making solar the central measure for understanding Florida’s renewable energy position. The figures below separate 2024 results, earlier historical comparisons, customer-owned systems, utility programs, and planned projects.
Contents
- Florida’s 2024 renewable electricity snapshot
- Solar’s role in the generation mix
- How the electricity mix changed from 2002 to 2022
- Utility-scale and customer-owned solar
- Community solar participation and benefits
- Duke Energy Florida’s solar expansion
- The scale of an individual solar center
Florida’s 2024 renewable electricity snapshot
The [EIA Florida Electricity Profile 2024] reports that Florida produced 266,119,236 megawatthours of total net generation in 2024. Renewable resources provided about 10% of that in-state generation. Solar alone accounted for nearly 9% of total net generation, so the state’s renewable result was overwhelmingly associated with solar rather than a broad mix of wind, hydroelectric, and other technologies.
Florida ranked third nationally in total solar power generating capacity in 2024. The state also ranked third in the nation for new utility-scale solar capacity additions in 2023, according to the [EIA Florida State Analysis]. These rankings describe different measurements: the first is the total capacity position in 2024, while the second concerns additions made during 2023.
The same 2024 EIA profile reports 72,012 megawatts of net summer capacity. Total retail sales reached 255,095,458 megawatthours, and the average retail electricity price was 12.53 cents per kilowatt-hour. These figures provide context for the generation statistics: Florida had a large electric system serving substantial retail demand, while renewable resources supplied about one-tenth of in-state generation.
The 2024 electric-power emissions figures in the EIA profile were 92,505 thousand metric tons of carbon dioxide, 19,758 short tons of sulfur dioxide, and 48,637 short tons of nitrogen oxide. Those are statewide electric-power measurements for 2024, not estimates of emissions avoided by a particular solar project.
Solar’s role in the generation mix
Nearly four-fifths of Florida’s solar generation came from utility-scale facilities in 2024, according to the [EIA Florida State Analysis]. This leaves a smaller, but still material, contribution from small-scale solar systems. The same source reports that small-scale solar generation was about eight times greater in 2024 than in 2019, showing rapid growth in the distributed portion of the market over that period.
Florida’s renewable profile is distinctive because wind is not a comparable source in the available state data. The EIA Florida State Analysis says Florida has no significant wind energy resources and no utility-scale wind-powered generating capacity. As a result, the state’s renewable generation story is primarily a solar story, with utility-scale projects supplying most solar generation and small-scale systems expanding from a lower base.
The EIA Florida Electricity Profile 2024 measured solar energy at nearly 9% of total net generation. Renewable resources overall were about 10%, meaning solar represented nearly all of the renewable total on that measurement. The figures are shares of generation, not shares of installed capacity; generation and capacity should not be treated as interchangeable measures.
How the electricity mix changed from 2002 to 2022
An [EIA Today in Energy article published August 24, 2023] describes a major change in Florida’s fuel mix between 2002 and 2022. Natural gas supplied 31% of Florida’s electricity generation in 2002 and 75% in 2022. Over the same period, Florida added 26.8 gigawatts of new and advanced natural-gas-fired capacity.
Coal moved in the opposite direction. Coal’s share of Florida’s generation fell from 33% in 2002 to 6% in 2022, while the state retired 4.2 gigawatts of coal-fired capacity. Oil-fired generation declined from 17% to 1%, accompanied by the retirement of 6.5 gigawatts of oil-fired capacity.
Solar’s share was 4% of Florida’s total generation in 2022, and total solar capacity reached 5.9 gigawatts by the end of that year. Nuclear units generated about 13% of Florida’s total electricity in 2022. These 2022 figures should be read as a historical snapshot rather than as a substitute for the EIA’s separate 2024 profile.
| Measure | Earlier or historical figure | Later figure | Period covered |
|---|---|---|---|
| Natural gas share of generation | 31% | 75% | 2002 to 2022 |
| Coal share of generation | 33% | 6% | 2002 to 2022 |
| Oil share of generation | 17% | 1% | 2002 to 2022 |
| Solar share of generation | — | 4% | 2022 |
| Solar capacity | — | 5.9 GW | End of 2022 |
The EIA’s planned-project figures, reported in the same August 2023 article, covered 2023 through 2026 and therefore represented plans rather than completed results. Planned natural-gas additions totaled 1.8 gigawatts. Planned solar capacity was 11.6 gigawatts, including 5.5 gigawatts of planned new solar units. Planned coal retirements totaled 1 gigawatt, which would have left 3.5 gigawatts of operating coal-fired capacity after those retirements.
Utility-scale and customer-owned solar
The [Florida PSC Annual Report 2020] provides an earlier baseline for Florida’s solar buildout. As of 2019, Florida had approximately 1,809 megawatts of installed utility-scale solar. In 2020, the Florida PSC approved cost recovery for approximately 1,500 megawatts of utility-scale solar for Florida Power & Light, Duke Energy Florida, and Tampa Electric Company. Solar facilities approved in 2020 were expected to add 596 megawatts.
Two named utility programs made up much of the reported projected expansion. FPL SolarTogether was projected to add 1,490 megawatts of utility-scale solar capacity through 2022. Duke Energy Florida’s Clean Energy Connection was projected to add 750 megawatts through 2022. Those are projections recorded in the 2020 report, so they describe expected additions at that time and should not be presented as independent verification of later operating totals.
Customer-owned renewable systems also expanded sharply in the PSC report’s historical comparison. Florida had 577 such systems in 2008, representing 3 megawatts of renewable capacity. By year-end 2019, the state had 59,508 customer-owned renewable generation systems, representing approximately 514 megawatts of renewable capacity.
| Customer-owned renewable systems | Systems | Renewable capacity |
|---|---|---|
| 2008 | 577 | 3 MW |
| Year-end 2019 | 59,508 | Approximately 514 MW |
The 2008 and 2019 figures cover customer-owned systems, while the 2019 utility-scale figure covers a different segment of the market. They should not be added together without a defined common accounting method. Together, however, they show that Florida’s solar expansion included both large projects and distributed customer installations.
Community solar participation and benefits
FPL’s [SolarTogether page] describes the program as the largest community solar program in the country and reports more than 38,000 participating Floridians. The page says the program is bringing nearly 1,500 megawatts of new solar capacity to Florida.
FPL also gives illustrative annual equivalencies for a 7-kilowatt SolarTogether subscription. The subscription can equal 6.56 tons of carbon dioxide emissions avoided in one year, 14,767 miles of driving avoided in one year, or 98 trees planted in one year. These are program-page equivalencies for the specified subscription size and one-year period, not statewide totals.
The scale of the subscription example is important when comparing it with statewide statistics. A 7-kilowatt subscription is a customer-level measure, while nearly 1,500 megawatts is a program capacity figure. The two numbers describe different levels of the same community-solar program and are not interchangeable.
Duke Energy Florida’s solar expansion
Duke Energy Florida reported on January 29, 2025, that its 10 Clean Energy Connection sites were fully operational by that date. The [Duke Energy Florida release] says the company’s solar commitment covered nearly 750 megawatts from 2022 to 2024. Each 74.9-megawatt Clean Energy Connection site can power about 23,000 homes at peak output.
The 10 sites created more than 1,500 temporary construction jobs, according to the release. Duke Energy Florida’s solar portfolio then included more than 25 solar sites producing almost 1,500 megawatts of emission-free generation. These figures describe the company’s reported portfolio and should not be read as the total solar capacity of Florida.
Duke Energy Florida also planned 12 new solar sites between 2025 and 2027. The company said those sites would add another 900 megawatts of generation. Because the release used planned language for those sites, 900 megawatts is a forward-looking project figure rather than a reported completed addition.
The scale of an individual solar center
FPL’s [Sunshine Gateway Solar Energy Center fact sheet] reports 351,230 solar panels and 74.5 megawatts of clean, emissions-free capacity. The solar site covers 450 acres within a 954-acre property. FPL says the center can power about 15,000 homes annually and has an emissions-reduction equivalent to removing 14,000 cars from the road each year.
The center illustrates why project-level statistics should be labeled separately from statewide totals. Its 74.5 megawatts is a facility capacity figure, its 15,000-home number is an annual service equivalency, and its 14,000-car figure is an emissions-reduction equivalency. None of these measures is the same as Florida’s 2024 solar generation share or the state’s total net summer capacity.
FPL’s [Solar Energy Centers page] says each plant creates around 200 jobs during construction. FPL’s [Learn About Solar Energy page] says each universal solar energy center is capable of generating nearly 75 megawatts of low-cost energy. Those descriptions align broadly with the Sunshine Gateway center’s 74.5-megawatt capacity, but the sources present them as general project descriptions and a specific facility fact sheet, respectively.
Taken together, the available figures show a solar-led renewable sector: about 10% of Florida’s in-state generation came from renewable resources in 2024, nearly 9% came from solar, and nearly four-fifths of solar generation came from utility-scale facilities. Historical utility programs, customer-owned systems, community solar participation, and planned projects add context to that statewide result while retaining their distinct dates, definitions, and forward-looking status.