The pilot microgrid community of Myrtlebrook was to be west of Green Road in the city's northwest quadrant. | City of Lakeland
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Correction: Highland Homes still plans to develop the Myrtlebrook subdivision on Myrtle Road west of Dr. N.E. Roberts Elementary School. An earlier version of this article incorrectly indicated otherwise. LkldNow regrets the error.

Lakeland’s neighborhood of the future, which was to become the city’s first solar microgrid community, producing clean power for 77 homes and the city, has gone dark.

Assistant City Attorney Ramona Sirianni told city commissioners Friday morning during an agenda study that BlockEnergy, which was supplying the solar equipment, notified the city in late January that it was seeking to wind down all of its business operations, including its project with the city.

City commissioners on Monday approved a termination agreement with BlockEnergy by a vote of 6-0.

The perfect storm: Sirianni said BlockEnergy’s decision “is based on some political and some economic circumstances, and I think a lot of that is attached to … the uncertainty with the new administration and the issue with tariffs.”

BlockEnergy is owned by Emera Inc., which also owns Tampa Electric Company.

The Myrtlebrook subdivision is slated for development in Lakeland’s northwest quadrant, west of Dr. N.E. Roberts Elementary School on Myrtle Road, west of Green Road. Highland Homes says it still plans to build 77 single family homes on roughly 16 acres there.

Highland Homes’ Myrtlewood community was to have 77 single family homes on roughly 16 acres of land. | City of Lakeland

What is a microgrid? Each home would have had its own solar panels and batteries, but linked together within the neighborhood. A central energy park would have had additional battery storage to help control the neighborhood flow.

Lakeland Electric would have owned the solar equipment after paying Tampa-based BlockEnergy LLC about $55,000 per home. The community was going to be connected to Lakeland Electric’s grid, allowing it to contribute excess power when it had a surplus and draw power as needed.

Full refund: BlockEnergy has agreed to return in full to the city the $1.27 million paid to help develop the microgrid.

Sirianni said the full refund will enable Lakeland Electric to pursue similar microgrid opportunities that may arise in the future.

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Kimberly C. Moore, who grew up in Lakeland, has been a print, broadcast and multimedia journalist for more than 30 years. Before coming to LkldNow in the spring of 2022, she was a reporter for four years with The Ledger, first covering Lakeland City Hall and then Polk County schools. She is the author of “Star Crossed: The Story of Astronaut Lisa Nowak," published by University Press of Florida. Reach her at kimberly@lkldnow.com or 863-272-9250.

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