Local

Land that was supposed to be solar farm auctioned off

SORRENTO, Fla. — Lake County land that was supposed to become the state's largest solar farm was auctioned off Wednesday.

The company behind the project closed earlier this year, and the farm in Sorrento never opened.

Neighbors who opposed the solar farm want to know what's in store for that land.

For now, the buyer won't say.

But neighbors said they won't miss what became a rusty eyesore.

It took less than two minutes to auction off what was supposed to be Florida's largest solar farm. The buyer got 210 acres of weeds and thousands of rusty posts for more than $1 million.

"Somebody got the money.  We don't know who he is," said neighbor Ernie White.

White said he knew the Bluechip Energy project along Lake County Road 437 in Sorrento would never make it.

About 174,000 solar panels were supposed to produce enough electricity to power 8,000 homes.  But the farm was never finished.

Top bidder Carl Spataro said he was representing an investor.  He refused to say who.

Many residents living in the Sorrento Springs golf course community, which borders the property, never liked the idea of a solar farm.  They wanted more homes to boost property values.