Utilities and solar companies tell House panel batteries paired with solar can reduce peak fuel use and boost resilience
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Summary
Witnesses from Florida Power & Light, Sunrun and distribution companies told the subcommittee that utility-scale solar plus battery storage is increasingly cost-effective, can be deployed quickly, and that residential batteries provide backup during storms and grid services; members questioned supply chains, battery costs and rare-earth sourcing.
Brandon Stankiewicz, vice president for Universal Solar and Storage at Florida Power & Light Co., told the Economic Infrastructure Subcommittee that solar and battery storage are key parts of FPL's long-term generation plan. "We operate about 8,000 megawatts of solar generation at a number of different sites in 35 different counties," Stankiewicz said, adding that pairing those solar sites with battery storage can shift generation away from gas units during evening peaks.
Stankiewicz described three planning advantages for solar: scalability, speed to market (roughly two years from site identification to operation on average), and cost. He said batteries can be connected to solar sites or sited independently to charge during low-cost periods and discharge at peak times, reducing the hours gas-fired plants run and lowering fuel pass-through costs to customers.
Becca Smith, deputy general counsel for Sunrun, described the residential side of the market. Sunrun installs rooftop solar and batteries (often Tesla Powerwall units), offers purchase and lease financing options, and runs aggregated battery fleets that can provide wholesale-level services. "When the lights go out, your system inverter will automatically switch to what's called island mode, and your lights stay on," Smith said, adding that a typical home system can provide about eight hours of backup during an outage.
Panelists addressed affordability and supply-chain questions. Sunrun said zero-down lease options are common in Florida and that for many customers the monthly cost of a leased solar-and-storage system approximates their prior utility bill while adding resilience. FPL and other witnesses said battery costs have come down, some manufacturing is increasing domestically, and regulators/markets affect where equipment is sourced.
Committee members asked about rare-earth minerals and whether Florida phosphate deposits could support battery or panel supply chains. Panelists said they were not aware of significant extraction or processing capacity in Florida for those specific inputs and described the issue as an open policy and industrial question requiring more study.
The presenters and committee also discussed grid modernization: Stankiewicz said FPL files 10-year site plans and pursues scenario analyses to plan for future load growth; Sunrun said distributed residential systems reduce the need for new large transmission builds in certain scenarios. No formal policy decisions were taken at this meeting; the committee adjourned without votes on solar policy.
What happens next: committee members may request follow-up information on battery incentives, domestic supply-chain developments and the potential of local mineral resources; no bills were passed or rejected at this session.