PARRISH — A nearly 400-acre solar farm is expected to be permitted this summer on land leased by Tampa Electric Co. from Alan Jones, of Jones Potato Farm, near the Manatee/Hillsborough County border.
The Harvest Sun Solar Plant on Alandco Road will be a 74.5-megawatt remotely operated alternative energy generation facility consisting of solar array racks on posts, accessible by semi-impervious gravel access roads, according to documents provided to Manatee County by Environmental Consulting & Technology Inc. on behalf of Tampa Electric.
Once operational, Harvest Sun will generate enough electricity to serve the equivalent of nearly 11,800 homes, Tampa Electric spokesperson Cherie Jacobs said. It will be Tampa Electric’s second solar facility in Manatee County, joining the Long Branch Solar Plant that was completed earlier this year near the Manatee-Hillsborough county line.
The yearlong construction project, expected to start this December, requires construction of a stormwater management system to collect stormwater runoff and discharge it off site, and will not cause or contribute to a violation of water quality standards, according to the report.
The project designers will consider measures to avoid and minimize impacts to wetlands and surface waters “to the greatest extent practical,” according to the Manatee County planning department’s description of the project, which states that a “specific erosion and sediment control plan and best management plans will be established and used during construction with federal, state and local regulations.”
A Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission permit will be required to relocate all gopher tortoises impacted by the project; the species is listed as threatened under state law.
The property includes 109 acres of abandoned citrus groves that may provide foraging and nesting habitat for the crested caracara bird, but no individual birds or active nests were observed during the protected species survey conducted by Earth Tech Environmental LLC in April 2025, according to the report. The bird is listed as threatened under the federal Endangered Species Act.
The Cornell Lab of Ornithology eBird system records five sightings of crested caracara in the vicinity of Alandco Road.
Nuisance and exotic vegetation will be removed from the project area, including 25 trees, for which payment will be required to the Manatee County Tree Fund as mitigation. Buffers will consist of drought tolerant trees and shrubs that are low maintenance, Florida-friendly species.
The project also will include a substation, electrical lines and equipment storage.
Tampa Electric evaluates potential sites for new plants based on a range of factors, including available land, access to our transmission lines, prudent costs and environmental considerations. The Harvest Sun site met those criteria, offering the right combination of land and infrastructure access to support a large-scale solar project, Jacobs said.