Obama tours Arcadia solar power plant

ARCADIA - President Barack Obama announced announced $3.4 billion in spending for the nation's power transmission system to foster new technologies during his visit to Florida Power & Light's DeSoto Next Generation Solar Energy Center Tuesday.

Air Force One touched down at the Sarasota-Bradenton International Airport around 10:45 a.m. under tight security.  The president walked on the tarmac directly to Marine One and boarded the helicopter which took off for DeSoto County about 10 minutes later.

President Obama arrived at the the largest photovoltaic electricity facility in the country around noon.

"It's an example of a company that's doing well by doing good," he said.

Obama compared the effort to the development of the national highway system 50 years ago, and he said modernization would lead to a "smarter, stronger and more secure electric grid." 

"Smart" electric funding

 The projects include installing "smart" electric meters in homes, automating utility substations, and installing thousands of new digital transformers and grid sensors.

Officials have argued a more modern grid is needed to give consumers better control over their electricity usage and costs, and to spur development of renewable energy sources such as wind and solar.

"It's expected to save consumers more than $20 billion over the next decade on their utility bills," the president said. "And I know nobody minds seeing their utility bills cut."

The money comes from the $787 billion economic stimulus package Congress approved earlier this year. The money will be matched by industry and will pay for 100 projects aimed at upgrading the power grid.

Projects include installing "smart" electric meters in homes, automating utility substations, and installing thousands of new digital transformers and grid sensors. 

View a complete list of the projects by state

A $200 million grant will go to Energy Smart Florida, a program involving Florida Power & Light that plans to install 2.6 million smart meters in homes and advanced monitoring systems in the grid substations, officials said.

After addressing the crowd in Arcadia for less than 10 minutes, the president left in a motorcade headed for Marine One. He flew back into the Sarasota-Bradenton International Airport, where he boarded Air Force One, and left Sarasota just before 1:30 p.m. His next scheduled stop is Norfolk, Va.