The French Green Energy Company is the much-anticipated $500 million green energy project on the Poinciana Sunrail Station site, and is scheduled to break into the country in November this year.
Panacea Global Energy CEO John Darling told Growthspotter that the first phase of Green Garden Village will include the first factory, data center and a six-storey office building that will serve as the headquarters of Panacea, a US affiliate of CMG Clean Tech.
“Some floors are leased to partners that are already coming to Europe,” Darling said. “We’re not bringing anyone from outside the US. I want to build everything as an American team.”
The schedule brings to the realization of the once dominant project that was originally planned to be built in part of Mac Overstreet Park, next to Valencia College’s Poinciana campus. Faced with sharp opposition from neighbors on nearby Verarago Community sites, the company shifted its focus in mid-2023 to a 63-acre parcel near Sunrail Station.
The 50,000-square-foot factory is the first of seven planned manufacturing facilities on campus, and is only the first stage. Produces solar assist heat pump water heaters. Darling said he believes there is still a market for the company’s clean energy products despite the recent passing of President Donald Trump’s “one big beautiful bill” and eliminating incentives and tax credits for solar panels and related products.
“It’s not changing our business strategy,” Darling said. “The reason it’s not changed is because people always buy products that can provide low-cost energy. The problem in the market is that the products are coming out, but they are very expensive and the investment is too long.”
Darling said the company already sells around 22,000 solar-assisted heat pumps in the United States.
The 100,000-square-foot data center is designed to reduce emissions. Darling said Duke Energy signed to build a 10-megawatt substation, and Panacea will install a solar film system on the roof in combination with hydrogen fuel cells and battery storage, reducing energy demand by 25 megawatts. Site plans were submitted to the county in early July.
Darling said the data center users are “national companies” and will become global leaders, but he was unable to reveal his name as he signed a non-disclosure agreement.
Darling said the Phase 1 building should be completed in 2027. The first phase is expected to create around 250 jobs.
The company will also be building a welcome centre with 80 residential units in Phase 1 and two mixed-use buildings. The final component will bring male and female locker rooms and stadium seats to approximately 2,500 soccer pitches. The company is recruiting coaches and trainers from Europe to establish a full academy.
Osceola County Approves Land Sales for Controversial Clean Energy Project
“There’s also a British pub-style restaurant there,” Darling said. “But we are actively looking for a variety of soccer clubs within our local community that we want to be involved in.”
County commissioners voted in early 2024 to begin negotiations with the company to purchase a 63-acre Sunrail site for the Green Garden Village Campus. The transaction approved by the county in February 2024 includes a 100% refund of AD Valorem tax on five years of property, with a maximum of 50% of the equipment purchase price and a maximum of $100,000 refund. The county also agreed to pay up to $3,000 for each job created with an annual wage of at least 150% of the county’s median wage.
County manager Don Fisher told GrowthSpotter that the company meets all benchmarks set in the memorandum.
“They were on schedule and they were on time for that deadline,” Fisher said. “So I gave them a little more time to answer some of the questions we had. But they’re in a good place for now.”
Darling said the design team is working with FEMA, South Florida Water Management District and Osceola County to develop a site plan that meets environmental standards without reducing the scope of the project. The solution was to split the project into two phases.
Osceola County
Phase 2 of Green Garden Village will be built in Lot 3, which will initially be used as flood plain mitigation. (Oceola County)
The Phase 2 expansion site, located south of Falcon Trace II Apartments, will initially be developed as a large pond for flood plain mitigation. Darling said the stormwater pond at the northeast corner of the site will be expanded in Phase 2.
“And that allows us to use the west area for six more industrial buildings,” he said. These factories will produce next-generation solar film products, solar panels, hydrogen fuel cells, lithium batteries and EV charging systems.
Any tips on developing Central Florida? Please contact me at lkinsler@growthspotter.com or (407) 420-6261. Follow GrowthSpotter on Facebook and LinkedIn.
