CLEARWATER, Fla. — The Florida Public Service Commission says there has been an uptick in renewable energy installations across the state.

The agency reports a 31% increase in renewable energy installations last year, with solar panels reigning as the most popular choice when it comes to going green.

Dimmitt Chevrolet in Clearwater is among the businesses who turned to solar energy in 2023, installing 2,000 solar panels on nearly an acre of rooftop.

“They’re really low profile and unobtrusive,” said dealership CFO Bobby Johnson. “We’ve utilized every spot that we could, within reason, to get solar panels on there.”

Johnson said the initial price tag was about $3 million, but that cost was cut in half with tax breaks and incentives. He said the panels now generate enough energy to cover all the dealership's electric costs, and will pay for themselves in just a few more years.

“The estimate that appears to be true, without inflation factored in, will save us $3.1 million over 25 years,” Johnson said.

Still, Dr. Yogi Goswami, the director of the University of South Florida's TECO Clean Energy Research Center, said the nation as a whole has a long way to go in order to reach its carbon emissions goals.

“Globally, solar power has been increasing at a rate of 38 percent per year for more than 10 years,” Goswami said. “In order to achieve our net-zero carbon emissions target by 2050, we are way behind.”

According to the U.S. Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy, 20% of the country’s electricity is generated by renewable energy sources.