Lakeland signs $4.2 million deal have 77 solar-powered homes built north of city
LAKELAND — Lakeland commissioners voted unanimously Monday to approve a $4.2 million deal to build the city's first solar-powered "microgrid" community.
The city will enter a contract with Tampa-based Block Energy Inc. to build a housing subdivision of 77 homes on a solar-powered microgrid. Lakeland-based Highland Homes will partner to construct the houses on Myrtle Road on the far north side of town, just south of Duff Road and west of Dr. N.E. Roberts Elementary School. The community would be named "Myrtlebrook."
"This microgrid project is disruptive, it's new and it's everything emerging technology stands for," Mike Dammer, Lakeland Electric's manager of emerging technology told the commission. "We are going into the new."
Each of the 77 homes will have a roughly 8 kilowatt solar-panel system installed on top of a membrane on a portion of its roof, Dammer said. Energy produced by the system is capable of being stored in a 43 kilowatt-hour battery shared by two homes.
All of the homes in the community will be networked together in what Block Energy calls a "BlockLoop." Homeowners would be able to use their own generated energy or the grid could pull electricity from a neighbor's unit if one house is tapped out.
The community is backed up with a "Block Central" that would have a 624 kilowatt-hour battery storage and 800 kilowatt backup.
"It's designed for 77% self sufficiency," Dammer said.
Block Energy has built a similar 37-home microgrid community with Tampa Electric Co. in Wimauma that Dammer said has achieved 93% energy independence — well above the expected 77%.
The goal is to break ground on the pilot community in 2024 with Highland Homes starting housing construction in 2025. The aim is to have construction complete by late 2025 or early 2026, depending on market conditions.
The city will pay $55,000 per home equipped with Block Energy's technology, coming to a total bill of $4,235,000 to be paid out as certain project milestones are reached. Lakeland Electric will seek out and apply for federal tax incentives that could help pay up to $1.1 million of the project's pricetag, Dammer said.
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"This is not just a technological pilot, this is a financial pilot," he said. "Do we have to craft a new rate to reflect the new system?"
Potential homebuyers should be aware that Lakeland Electric will own the solar-panel systems on their roof and have right-of-way access to the equipment, which is expected to have a lifespan of about 25 years.
Lakeland Electric plans to charge these future homeowners its standard residential rate, which Dammer noted, includes a fuel rate charge.
"We will have our rates people constantly evaluating this as well," he said. "We do not want to overburden the Block Energy individuals but don't want to subsidize it. We want it to pay for itself."
As this is a test pilot, Lakeland Electric will build out its standard transmission connection to the community to allow it to draw additional energy from the grid. Dammer said the pilot community would be allowed to largely draw from the grid at "non-peak" times, but if things don't pan out as expected it would allow the utility to flip a switch and provide residential power.
The city has an operating and maintenance agreement expected to last through 2028 with Block Energy in which it will work on training Lakeland Electric employees on how to operate and manage the system. The utility will then have the option to negotiate an extended agreement or take over control of the system.
"We are talking about this like its high science fiction. These things are going in everything. Microgrids are going in everywhere all over the country," said Mike Beckham, LE's general manager.
Sara-Megan Walsh can be reached at swalsh@theledger.com or 863-802-7545. Follow on X @SaraWalshFl.
This article originally appeared on The Ledger: Lakeland signs $4.2M deal to build a solar 'microgrid' community
