<p>A neat development...</p>
<p>HARMONY -- Jim Lentz had been told many times that his pursuit to build a community that generates its own power is ludicrous.</p>
<p>But Lentz , founder of the environmentally friendly Harmony in eastern Osceola County, might get the last laugh. A recently forged partnership with Florida</a> State University's Energy & Sustainability Center puts Lentz a step closer to his vision.</p>
<p>The university plans to build a 5-megawatt power plant that uses solar thermal energy combined with the gas created by burning biomass, or organic matter. That's enough to power an average of 2,000 homes. Construction is set to start in the fall and is expected to be completed in 18 months.</p>
<p>The project is part of the Florida Sustainable Energy Research Park at Harmony, an FSU program that hopes to attract renewable-energy companies to work with its researchers on developing and improving technology. The 11,000-acre Harmony community would be used for testing products.</p>
<p>The plant won't use conventional solar panels, which capture the sun's ultraviolet rays and convert them into electricity. Instead, it uses thermal aluminum panels that capture and store heat. The intent is to lower energy-production costs by using off-the-shelf aluminum sheets.</p>
<p>"We want to bring the cost of this technology down, to make it environmentally intelligent," said Lentz, who began building Harmony six years ago. "Companies and people are not going to buy into renewable energy unless the price is right."
See: Harmony</a> teams with FSU to find new ways to power community - OrlandoSentinel.com
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FSU will establish a satellite facility, staffed by mostly doctoral candidates, at Harmony, FL. An understanding has been struck with the Orlando Utilities Commission to sell electricity to the utility.</p>