Published on March 26, 2026
On March 25, officials from FPL presented Melbourne Police Chief David Gillespie and City Manager Jenni Lamb a rebate check for $108,529.
The City of Melbourne earned the FPL rebate by investing in a state-of-the-art, energy-efficient thermal air conditioning system at the Joseph Pellicano Law Enforcement Center, which opened last year.
The air conditioning system’s chillers produce large quantities of ice in the middle of the night when electricity rates are less expensive than during peak daytime hours. The air conditioning system then uses this ice to cool the air in the building during the day. FPL incentivizes this installation and use of this type of system to encourage off-peak energy usage.
The police station is in use 24 hours a day, seven days a week, with the chillers being the highest electricity usage system in the building. Restricting their use to off-peak evening hours (middle of the night) results in the City paying less for electricity than it would otherwise. This off-peak use of electricity for cooling results in a 30% – 50% savings over a conventional air conditioning system in a similar-sized building.
During the initial design of the Joseph Pellicano Law Enforcement Center, the Melbourne City Council approved additional funds to purchase and install this type of energy-efficient air conditioning system, knowing that it would pay for itself in energy savings within 10 years and would continue to save the City money for years to come. The Beautification and Energy Efficiency Board also supported the investment to help further the City’s energy-efficiency goals.