Commissioners consider 1,400-acre solar farm in Lakeland

LAKELAND, Fla. - The City of Lakeland could soon be home to another solar energy farm, and this one would be the largest.

Williams Corporation is currently requesting to develop a facility near Florida Polytechnic University's campus.

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The proposed solar energy farm would sprawl over nearly 1,400 acres and would be built south of University Boulevard and east of North State Road 33.

This could be the sixth solar farm in the city that Lakeland Electric could buy power from.

"If we can have another partnership that supports Lakeland Electric and our power grid in general, then I think it's smart, and it also gives an opportunity as technology becomes available what green energy looks like, and we can have a myriad of tools at our disposal to serve the public," said Lakeland Commissioner Sara Roberts McCarley.

It's unclear just how much power the 1,400-acre facility could generate. However, the average for solar is about five to six acres per megawatt, depending on the design.

According to the Williams Corporation, the solar farm would be a good use of the land that was once used for phosphate mining and therefore has poor soils.

Commissioner Roberts McCarley is supportive of the project but says she wants to make sure the right thing is done for the city's longevity.

"Is this a flexible space and is this something that isn't too impactful on the environment? So down the road, can we flex that space back out and would the property owners be open to, if this working really well or if technology makes solar farms smaller, would that be something they would consider down the road? I'm sure they would," said Roberts McCarley.

Lakeland Electric isn't ready to comment on the project just yet as it's in the preliminary stages.

Commissioners will vote on Monday, Dec. 18, whether to approve the request to change the property's zoning to Conditional Use. 

If approved, the commission would vote at a later date on whether to enter an agreement with Williams.