Oviedo Goodwill Introduces New Solar Project

Orlando sees yet another solar project come to fruition as Goodwill installs a new solar array. This is the second installation of this kind as part of Goodwill's Solar for Good project, and it likely won't be the last.

While the first solar energy installation of the project came to Goodwill's Waterford Lakes store, the new array is located along Alafaya Trail at the retailer's Oviedo store. Unveiled on July 14, the 423 panels are expected to pump roughly 140 kilowatts of power out of its 12,000 square-foot array. That means, this solar setup, along with the 153 kilowatt array installed at the Waterford Lakes location, is due to change the way Goodwill functions as a business and nonprofit within the community.

According to a press release from the nonprofit organization, the expected savings from the solar energy equipment is somewhere around $5.4 million over the next 25 years, or nearly a quarter of a million dollars per year. Instead of going toward the cost of traditional energy bills, those funds will be passed on to the community through job training and placement. In total, the project is expected to benefit more than 42,000 Central Floridians, and the solar itself has the capacity to fully power 28 average Florida homes per year.

The inception of the project came with a $130,000 grant from Sunsense and Duke Energy, and the organizations involved in the development and finances of this array promise it won't be the last we see of it. In a similar trend, Walt Disney World and Legoland have also announced new solar projects. With such vocal support for clean energies, it could be that Central Florida is in for an impressive increase in solar energy projects in the coming months.