The Lakeland City Commission voted unanimously to approve a 15‑year power purchase agreement (PPA) with American Independent Power LLC (AIP) for a 5-megawatt liquid‑nitrogen generation pilot at the Socram substation (8436 U.S. Highway 98 North).

Ramona Sirianni of the city attorney’s office summarized the agreement: Lakeland Electric will purchase all power generated by the facility at a fixed rate of $44 per megawatt‑hour. The contract term begins on commercial operation, targeted for Sept. 2, 2026, and runs 15 years with an option to extend. The maximum annual payment at full availability was presented as approximately $1,927,200 (43,800 MWh per year at $44/MWh) and would be incorporated into future Lakeland Electric budgets subject to commission approval. AIP will retain environmental attributes and renewable credits associated with the project and is responsible for building, operating and insuring the facility; the agreement includes standard indemnities and an early-termination formula to compensate for remaining expected contract value.

Commissioners and Lakeland Electric leadership discussed the project’s role in the utility portfolio. Mike Beckham, Lakeland Electric general manager, described the pilot as a “bridge” technology that uses a smaller land footprint than comparable solar-plus-storage installations and said the project posed limited financial risk to the city. Commissioner McLeod and others noted the pilot could help the city manage growth in electricity demand while other technologies (including small modular reactors) mature.

Commissioner Musick asked about AIP’s capital cost; meeting discussion identified an approximate build cost of $20 million. Commissioner Madden described the project as a proof‑of‑concept for denser renewable capacity that could support future data‑center growth, if successful.

The utility committee had given the PPA unanimous favorable recommendation before the commission vote. The commission approved the agreement and authorized city officials to execute related documents.