ARCADIA — Using a large Florida Power & Light solar energy facility outside this small town as a backdrop, President Obama today will announce $3.4 billion in federal grants to 100 different “smart grid” energy projects around the U.S.

The Obama administration says the grants, which are part of the $787 billion economic stimulus package approved this year, will create or save “tens of thousands” of jobs while making the nation’s electricity network more reliable and efficient and more compatible with renewable energy sources.

FPL is getting a $200 million grant for its program of technological upgrades that include installing more than 2.6 million “smart meters” in homes to provide more detailed consumption information to customers and enable them to reduce energy use and cut their bills.

Obama will tour FPL’s $152 million Next Generation Solar Energy Center, billed as the largest solar farm of its kind with 90,000 photovoltaic panels that convert sunlight to energy on 180 acres in DeSoto County. The solar center produces 25 megawatts of power, or enough to supply about 3,000 homes. By comparison, FPL’s gas- and oil-fired plant in Riviera Beach plant provides energy for 190,000 homes.

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