A massive array of ground-mounted solar panels may soon rise on 1,400 acres of largely undevelopable land near Florida Polytechnic University.
The City Commission voted unanimously Monday to allow the solar power generation facility as a conditional use on 2,044 acres of marshy land — east of State Road 33 and North Combee Road and south of University Boulevard.
The land is part of a nearly 5,000-acre tract that the Williams Acquisition Holding Co. LLC has owned for more than two decades.
Williams, based in Oklahoma, is one of the largest natural gas providers in the U.S. and has major land holdings across the Eastern Seaboard, the Gulf of Mexico, the Rockies and the Pacific Northwest. The company has also invested heavily in new energy ventures including large-scale solar installations.
Much of the property proposed for the solar farm was formerly used for phosphate mining. Because it has poor soil that is not suitable for development, it was zoned for conservation or limited development when it was annexed into the city limits in 2001.
Tom Cloud, a land use attorney with GrayRobinson in Orlando, told the commissioners that the solar farm is a perfect use for land that would otherwise likely sit vacant.
The 200 megawatt solar farm will have dozens of racks of 90 solar panels each that are roughly 153 feet long, 13 feet wide and 15 feet tall. They will rotate 60 degrees from east to west to track the movement of the sun.
An analysis by city planners said the effect on neighboring properties “should be minimal as the project will not generate any significant noise, odors or traffic impacts.” The solar farm would be set back at least 100 feet from State Road 33 and buffered by shrubs or trees and a minimum 6-foot high fence or wall.
“It’s hard to imagine, for me, that you could find a better place for a solar farm,” Cloud said at an agenda study session on Friday. “Most of the ones you see, like if you go up the turnpike or the 429, are readily visible from the highway. … This one is going to have a much better visual footprint because, for the most part, you’re not going to know it’s there.”
The project would be completed in three phases. The first would be on 1,400 acres.
Commissioners had some questions about environmental impact, when they discussed it on Dec. 1 prior to the first reading.
Sara Roberts McCarley said she was generally supportive of the project but wanted to make sure the city was thinking about potential “unintended consequences” in terms of water drainage and how the “wave of mirror” might affect the rain and water cycles.
“If you are elevating the terrain with gravel, you are changing the landscape literally, even though it is a wetland and not suitable for other things. Down the road, are we going to see some environmental impacts into Bridgewater and these other places?” McCarley asked. “Water is going to find its way to go somewhere, especially if we dry out and build these things. So I just think that is a critical component to that whole area.”
In the intervening weeks, her questions were answered to her satisfaction. On Monday, she called it “the highest, best use” of the property.
Commissioner Mike Musick wanted to make sure the city and the Innovation District will benefit from the project. The Central Florida Innovation District is a vision shared by Lakeland, Auburndale, Polk County and other stakeholders to transform the area around Florida Polytechnic University and SunTrax into a high-tech corridor with high-skills, high-wage jobs.
City Planning and Transportation Manager Chuck Barmby said some of the power will go to Lakeland Electric and surveys had taken drainage and environmental concerns into account.
Commissioner Stephanie Madden on Monday thanked the Williams Company for working with the city and Florida Poly to continue nurturing the dream they have for the Innovation District.
“They really sat at our table and with Florida Poly,” she said. “It’s so great when developers and property owners who want to see the vision of a region and how that could radically transform the future for Central Florida.”
Madden recently sounded an alarm at the Dec. 4 commission meeting regarding the city of Auburndale considering a planned warehouse north of Pace Road and east of the Polk Parkway, saying it goes against all of the plans city and county leaders have adopted for a science-and-technology hub anchored by the university.
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