Going solar in the Sunshine State

Jessie Prado saves about $75 on his electric bill, thanks to photovoltaic solar panels on his roof.

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MIAMI (CNN American Morning) -- Jessie Prado sees himself as a bit of a trailblazer. His house in Boca Raton, Florida is easy to pick out. It's the only one with solar panels - and solar power. He, as well as his power company, Florida Power and Light, are making an investment in solar power in the Sunshine State.

"I think by me doing it, other people will see, and will learn," said Prado.

But believe it or not, Florida has never been considered a great place for solar power. Why? Too much moisture and rain.

"We do have moisture in the air and it scatters the light as it comes through the atmosphere," said Robert Reedy, the Director of the Florida Solar Energy Center at the University of Central Florida. "If you spend money on a piece of equipment that can capture the sun's energy - it's an investment," he said.

But big utilities like Florida Power and Light (FPL, Fortune 500) have historically been hesitant to build solar in the Sunshine State.

"We looked into solar, but for a long time we thought the technology and the pricing wasn't feasible to deploy it here," said Eric Silagy of FPL.

FPL has already built the largest solar power plant in the Mojave Desert, in California, and now it has just gained approval to build the nation's second largest solar plant in Martin County, Florida, northwest of West Palm Beach.

180,000 solar mirrors will span about 500 acres, and produce steam to help power up FPL's adjacent power plant, which is run off natural gas. It will produce enough electricity to power up about 11,000 homes.

And that is where solar energy's deficiencies lie. Solar panels are not efficient enough to provide all of our power. For example, FPL's Martin County plant is the largest fossil-fueled power plant in the country. To take it off line, and to provide totally solar power, you'd have solar-ray farms on nearly half the state of Florida.

And, what do you do for power when night falls? The sun doesn't shine 24-hours a day. Collecting the sun's rays in a battery system is not yet available.

"Right now, it's very expensive. The only way to efficiently store it is through batteries, large batteries," said Silagy. "But to do so on a large scale is just not technically feasible and very, very expensive," he said.

Prado has a small battery system to run a handful of appliances at night. His two dozen roof top panels are part of another form of solar power, called photovoltaic. His system immediately converts sunlight into electricity, but it's not nearly strong enough to keep his whole house running at the same time. His central air conditioning system, a must in Florida, uses far too much electricity to run on this system. He is saving about $75 a month off his electric bill.

Roger Messenger works for Vergona Bowersox, one of about 20 solar companies operating in Florida. "His house uses whatever it needs and anything left over, it goes back into the utility line and the utility pays him for what he sells back," said Messenger.

So, by using solar and by being frugal, Prado's electric bill is $6.86 this month, after he sold $27.93, in power, back to FPL.

An average home will cost, on average, just over $40,000 to equip it with a photovoltaic system, like Prado's. With state and federal rebates, the out-of-pocket cost is about $20,000.

"You always have to think long term on this kind of investment," said Prado. "It will pay itself off, probably in 7 years - 7 to 12 years depending on how much you invested into it, but then after that you don't have to pay for power anymore," he said.

And as the price of oil continues to rise, the out-of-pocket cost may not look so bad to folks anymore because the difference in price has narrowed. Right now, less than 1% of the United States is powered by solar. But, experts say, that can quickly change.

"It's all about volume," said Reedy. "We've seen it over and over. Cell phones, computers, calculators."

Reedy believes the market is getting serious. People, they say, are furious with the oil and gas situation. For instance, 24,000 FPL customers pay a monthly surcharge of $9.75 for this type of green energy to be built. Funds from the Sunshine Energy Renewable program funded a photovoltaic solar plant, in Sarasota, Florida. These customers don't get anything for their money except knowing that they helped their environment, in a very green way.

Jessie Prado thinks green too, and he looks forward to the day when his electric bill will be a thing of the past - and he'll be prepared if oil prices reach crisis levels.

"When I'm older, power won't be an issue for me," he said. "I don't have to worry, can I pay the electric bill? Because I know this will generate at least the minimal I will need to survive."