By Mitch Perry
Special to Tropic Press from the Florida Phoenix
Despite the Trump administration’s hostility towards renewable energy, information released by the U.S. Energy Information Administration shows that utility solar capacity — large-scale projects that provide electricity to power grids — has increased 33% since 2025.
That’s according to the SUN DAY campaign, which tracks renewable energy nationally.
The president’s signature One Big Beautiful Bill Act in 2025 removed solar power tax credits, which industry groups in Florida feared could devastate the solar industry in the Sunshine State.
Trump’s pick to lead Florida for the next four years, Republican Byron Donalds, said last week that he’s not a fan of solar power and was openly dismissive of its ability to power the state.
“We are in the middle of the solar fad, and I’m going to call it a fad,” he said during a campaign event in Daytona Beach Shores.
“Because we know how this works,” he added. “We’ve seen these solar arrays all over the state of Florida. They’re taking land out of production and taking land off the interstate. We’ve seen how this has worked time and again. What happens very clearly is you have some power in the day, no power at night, when most people are using electricity anyway. And so it’s not consistent power.”
His Democratic opponent, David Jolly, has a different take.
“Solar should be a part of Florida’s future,” he told the Phoenix last Friday, following his appearance in front of the Tampa Tiger Bay Club. “I think that the more people we can get off the traditional grid with solar panels, whether it’s through incentives or some soft mandates into our Public Services Commission, great.”
He went on to say that the state’s biggest investor-owned utilities are “going to widespread adoption of solar.”
Eight percent of the energy generated in Florida comes from renewable sources (mostly solar), according to a 2026 report from the Florida Public Service Commission (PSC). Nearly 75% of the energy generated in Florida comes from natural gas. Another 11% comes from nuclear power, 3% from coal, 2% from purchases and less than one percent from oil.
The Phoenix reached out to the three largest investor-owned utilities in Florida to learn how much solar power is in their plans.
Florida Power & Light (FPL) is the state’s largest energy provider. In 2025, FPL delivered 11% of its energy from solar generation. Its 10-year 2026 Ten-Year Power Plant Site Plan calls for that to increase to 26% by 2035.
However, that is 30% lower compared to its 2025 plan. The Southern Alliance for Clean Energy (SACE) attributes that reduction to expiring federal solar tax credits passed by Congress last year. (SACE notes that NextEra Energy, FPL’s parent company, “quietly” abandoned its goal of net-zero emissions by 2045).
Duke Energy Florida intends to add 12 solar sites to the electric grid, increasing capacity by 900 megawatts by 2027, according to spokesperson Ana Gibbs. The plan, she said, is to have Duke Energy generate approximately 30% of the electricity it sells from solar power by 2035.
Tampa Electric Co. generated 12% of its energy portfolio from solar power in the 12 months ending in June 2026, spokesperson Cherie Jacobs said. Next year, about 17% of its energy is expected to come from the sun.
For years, environmentalists in Florida complained that the investor-owned utilities were behind other states in adopting solar power. That’s changed dramatically in recent years, in large part to the enormous reduction in costs associated with it. Solar panels that sold for $5-$6 per watt around 2000 now cost about 12 cents per watt, according to Dave Ember, chief analyst and co-founder of a global energy think tank.
Small modular nuclear reactors
While playing down solar, Donalds is promoting another product he says could play a part in fueling Florida’s energy needs. “I believe that we need to be investing in small, modular nuclear reactors in Florida,” he said in Daytona Beach Shores. “We have to have a consistent power base.”
There has been a lot of interest in what are known as SMRs in Florida and around the country. Advocates say that they promise greater safety, quicker deployment, and cost less than traditional nuclear generation.
The Florida Legislature approved a bill in 2024 requiring the PSC to conduct a feasibility study on advanced nuclear reactors. That report, issued last year, recommended a more comprehensive study, perhaps by a major university, to help define the benefits of nuclear development. However, that momentum stalled when a bill (HB 1461) that would have authorized the PSC to regulate advanced nuclear reactors (and passed 108-0 in the House) stalled in the Senate.
But perhaps most important for now, anyway, is that the utilities say these reactors are not in their mix at all going forward.
“Regarding SMRs, at this point, they are not yet commercially available at scale or cost-effective,” said Andrew Sutton, an FLP spokesperson. He added that the company has a “dedicated team” evaluating the technology so that it could be deployed quickly if it does become cost-effective.
Duke Energy Florida plans no nuclear deployment — its Ten-Year Site Plan proposes new solar and upgrading existing generation units, Ana Gibbs said. “Advanced nuclear overall is still a longer-term option.”
Tampa Electric is looking into small modular nuclear reactors as a possible solution. However, right now, “the technology isn’t commercially viable,” spokesperson Cherie Jacobs said.
Mitch Perry has covered politics and government in Florida for more than two decades. Most recently he is the former politics reporter for Bay News 9. He has also worked at Florida Politics, Creative Loafing and WMNF Radio in Tampa. He was also part of the original staff when the Florida Phoenix was created in 2018.
Florida Phoenix is part of States Newsroom, the nation’s largest state-focused nonprofit news organization. This story is republished with their permission. To support Florida Phoenix, click here:
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J.C. Bruce
Solar use is growing all over the world. In Germany panels are put at nearly every section of the autobahn on otherwise unusable land. Farmers are grazing animals under the panels, where the grass grows and shade is provided. We need people like a jolly who look at all options including solar. My concern with nuclear in Florida is what happens if it ever leaked into water systems.
A black man who is a devoted follower of Donald Trump must be either stupid or rich. What Donalds is reported as saying about electric power is certainly stupid.