December 16 (Renewables Now) - US utility Florida Power & Light Company (FPL) this week officially opened a 409 MW/900 MWh battery at the site of the 74.5-MW Manatee solar park in its home state.

The Manatee Energy Storage Center consists of 132 storage containers that make it the largest one globally in terms of installed capacity. The site is also the world’s biggest solar-powered battery, according to FPL.

The energy storage system covers 40 acres (16.2 ha) of land and will be capable of powering around 329,000 homes for more than two hours. It will store extra electricity generated by the Manatee photovoltaic (PV) park and feed it to the grid during periods of increased demand.

The Manatee battery was installed as part of FPL’s plan to speed up the retirement of two aging gas-powered facilities and use renewables instead. The utility, which at the start of this year shut down its last coal-fired power station, is pursuing a goal to install 30 million solar panels across Florida by 2030. Around 45% of that target has been reached, president and CEO Eric Silagy noted.

The utility expects that close to 40% of its total power will come from zero-emission sources by 2030. It is meanwhile working on a 50-MW battery storage pilot programme to build eight systems in Florida that will be switched on by the start of next year.

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