By: Aubrey Brown | WCTV Eyewitness News

March 12, 2019

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (WCTV) – Late last week, the Florida A&M University Board of Trustees approved a partnership with Duke Energy Florida to build a solar facility in Brooksville.

The Board approved a 25-year lease agreement at FAMU’s Brooksville Agricultural and Environmental Research Station.

“FAMU strives to be a good neighbor at all times, and like residents of Brooksville and Hernando County, we are concerned about the sustainability of the planet,” said Fred Gainous, Ed.D., who leads the FAMU Brooksville project. “This initiative allows us to use the natural energy source of the sun to power homes, instead of using resources that can be depleted.”

Duke Energy’s Rattler Solar Power Plant could add 74.9 megawatts of power to the grid at BAERS. The solar facility would span across 800 acres of property and feature about 270,000 tracking solar panels that follow the sun’s movement throughout the day.

“Making this land available to Duke Energy allows FAMU to accomplish two central objectives: generating revenue for student education and offering the county an alternative source of clean energy,” said FAMU President Larry Robinson, Ph.D. “We look forward to a long and healthy partnership with Duke Energy.”

The university says the facility can provide electricity for 23,000 homes.