Florida Power & Light Company (FPL) submitted an application to build a solar energy generating facility at its Parrish power plant. According to principal planner for the project for the Manatee County Planning Department, FPL wanted to co-locate the solar facility on its Parrish property. In February 2008, FPL had unveiled solar facility at Rothenbach park in Sarasota county. The facility, located off Bee Ridge Road, produces 250 kilowatts of clean energy from 1,200 solar panels.
The Rothenbach solar facility is located on a landfill and produces enough energy to power about 40 average homes.
“We’re happy that we’ll be one of the first to do something very positive for the environment,” said Parrish resident Cookie Jordan. “People seem to be very enthusiastic about it.”
“They own a ton of land out of there,” Laurie Suess said.
The solar panels would heat water to produce steam, which would generate electricity, Suess said.