With BP’s giant oil spill only growing larger and spreading farther, clean renewable energy is becoming a bigger priority nationwide.

So it came as a pleasant surprise when Energy Farms Inc., a Florida based company, said they would announce plans to create what will be the state’s largest solar panel plant–a whopping 550 acres. The plant, when fully operational, will generate 74 megawatts of power.

Plans for the plant were announced at the Clean Energy Congress this past week, a meeting that included some of Energy Farm’s founders, as well as 120 average Joes–members of the community that were able to contribute their ideas, opinions, and desires to the rest of the congress and the company for consideration.

While this plant may end up the Sunshine State’s largest source of photovoltaic power, that doesn’t mean that Energy Farm has been at this business for years; in fact, this is the first plant they’ve planned. It’s an ambitious start for the young company.

“The company is only eighteen months old,” said Shelton Stone, co-founder and president of Energy Farm. “The focus in Florida and around the nation is shifting more to clean, renewable energy.”

“I personally never knew how dangerous domestic oil drilling or deep water drilling could be until now,” Stone said in reference to the BP oil spill.
Not only will Energy Farm generate power using solar panels, but it will also invest in hydrogen cell technology that can create clean energy at night, while the solar panels lay inactive.

The $300 million dollar plant will be financed by loans and private capital and has an estimated one-year build time. The funding is independent from taxpayer-financed incentives or state subsidies, and, if it succeeds, could pave the way for similarly funded projects.

It’s a sad irony that the company is based out of Welton County, one of the Florida areas where oil is being washed on the shore. “We have oil washing up on beaches a mile from our offices,” Stone said. “The oil is here.”

So while Energy Farm can’t stop the oil from destroying the beaches, it may be able to make this dirty form of energy a thing of the past.