SORRENTO, Fla.,None — Crews broke ground Monday in Sorrento on what will be the state's largest solar farm.
The first phase of the solar farm on County Road 437 will produce enough power for more than 8,000 homes.
This does not mean lower power bills for local residents, but the company is investing $250 million, and officials say this will bring lots of jobs, and the work out here has already started.
There's lots of open pasture in the Sorrento area of Lake County. Resident Carol White said changing that will take some getting used to.
"To put something like this out here, me personally, I was not happy," White said.
Bluechip Energy of Lake Mary is now building Florida's largest solar farm, which officials insist, won't bother any of the neighbors.
"Once the farm is up and running, you won't even know it's here," Bluechip Energy's Lawrence Hefler said.
The company will cover 200 acres with 174,000 solar panels. They'll capture enough sunlight to power 8,000 homes for a year.
Officials originally tried to convince Progress Energy, which has a substation right next door, to purchase Bluechip panels and build its own farm.
"And they said 'no, we will not buy any panels,'" Bluechip Energy president Dimitri Nitikin said. "'But, we'll buy all the power you produce with them.' We said, 'OK!'"
Bluechip officials said they also plan to lease another 300 acres of adjacent land from the city of Eustis, and cover most of it with panels. The company said it will create 250 jobs during the height of construction.
Residents in neighboring communities went to both the county commission and to court to stop the project. But White said it's time to accept it.
"I know there's a lot of people still upset. But there's nothing anybody can do about it. You just go on," White said.
One possible snag was the discovery of 55 Gopher Tortoises. For now, they'll build around the holes, and possibly see if they can relocate them.
The solar farm should open late spring 2012.
WFTV
