FPL solar setup nearly done at Boynton’s Oceanfront Park
BOYNTON BEACH — Groups of parking spaces at Oceanfront Park have been cordoned off for months while Florida Power & Light completes a project to add solar panel canopies.
Construction started in May and will be completed early this month, said Devaney Iglesias, a spokeswoman for FPL. The installation is part of FPL’s program called SolarNow, a voluntary program that provides customers with an easy way to support solar energy. Each customer enrolled pays an extra $9 a month to contribute to FPL’s solar energy development.
About 35,000 of these customers are in Palm Beach County, Iglesias said.
“We want people to engage in solar energy and see how it works,” Iglesias said.
Solar “trees” — which stand 18 to 24 feet tall and come in white, blue or green colors — are already installed in the park, Iglesias said.
“It’s a very modern, distinctive tree,” Iglesias said. “One variety has a solid, curved trunk and another variety has a trunk with two arms.”
The canopies and trees are already connected to FPL’s main power grid that helps power 35 counties.
Final work for the canopies involves pouring concrete to secure the columns and to administer final inspections, Iglesias said.
“The two canopies at Oceanfront Park Beach will be powering the grid with nearly 200 kilowatts of clean energy, while providing about 40 parking spaces and the boardwalk with shade,” Iglesias said.
There are 714 panels installed at Oceanfront — 324 on the northern array and 390 on the southern array, Iglesias said.
The Oceanfront Park solar canopies make up one of the biggest solar structures in the state, Iglesias said. About 20 of the state’s 150 solar structures are in Palm Beach County.
“It’s definitely one of our bigger installations,” Iglesias said. “What’s great about these canopies is that we install them in communities that have a high number of participants.”
A park worker said parking space closures during the con-
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