ORLANDO, Fla. — As more customers sign on for community solar energy with OUC, the utility provider is preparing to supercharge their offerings: by building three new solar farms in the next two years.

“It’s a wonderful opportunity for all of us to be on solar energy, as opposed to coal or gas," said Paula Gastenveld, who lives in Metrowest. "We're probably never going to run out of the sun, so I think it's just the way for us to go."

Gastenveld recently put new windows in her home, which saved costs on her energy bill. But as she perused OUC's website, she stumbled upon information about joining their community solar initiative.

She's now one of 51 customers who have signed up, including -- in December -- a big one: The City of Orlando purchased enough solar energy to power 17 city fire stations and City Hall.

“The overarching goal is to democratize solar," said Sam Choi. “They know exactly where that solar is coming from, they know what kind of contribution they’re making."

Choi manages OUC's emerging technologies and renewables and said that while homeowners installing their own panels can be a costly endeavor, signing up for community solar allows for wider participation.

In 2013, OUC launched their first community solar project at their facility on Gardenia Avenue, creating a covered parking.

Five years later, they installed a floating solar farm atop a retention pond at the same place, adding another 32 kilowatts and touting it as the first floating solar field in the Southeast.

Soon, the utility provider was energizing another solar farm -- panels spread out over the size of eight football fields -- at their Stanton Energy Facility in East Orange County.

And now they are expanding again with three more farms, nine times that size. The farms will pump out an estimated 108 megawatts of solar energy, enough to power 23,000 homes.

OUC just needs more homeowners and companies to sign on.

“A lot of what we’re trying to do with solar is allowing us to have a more sustainable environment," Choi said.

Choi said that the deal linking OUC and nearly a dozen other municipal utility providers is in the works. The locations for the three farms, from East Orange County to Poinciana, have not yet been chosen.

“They’ll see a little bit of an increase in their bill. But they need to know what they’re getting in return is that they’re contributing to the building of solar farms," said Choi, explaining that customers can elect what percentage of their bill comes from solar energy, from 10 percent to 100 percent.

Gastenveld said that she didn’t get a bill yet; she's waiting for a full year to pass so she can compare the cost. But she said even if it’s a little pricier, to her it’s worth it.

“I’m going to stick with it, because I really believe solar is the way to go, especially for Florida," she said.

OUC said that customers can go to their website and calculate what the cost will be for them if they sign on.