Have you ever wondered what would happen if a tornado churned through the middle of a utility-scale solar farm?
Wonder no longer, my morbid-minded friend. Check out this drone video shot by Duke Energy on October 10, showing what’s left of the Lake Placid Solar Power Plant in Highlands County, Florida.
One of many tornadoes that spawned ahead of Hurricane Milton’s approach to Florida’s coast took a jaunt through the 45-megawatt solar field, which opened in December 2019 in Sylvan Shores. Lake Placid could power up to 12,000 homes before a tornado took a chunk out of its 180,000-module array.
At least one person in Highlands County was injured by the tornado at a nearby mobile home park.
Hurricane Milton’s whipping winds also did a number on Tropicana Field, home of Major League Baseball’s Tampa Bay Rays. One of the most-derided domes in all of professional sports received an unexpected and unwelcome makeover, as highlighted in another Duke Energy drone video.
Thankfully, there were no injuries reported despite the Trop’s fabric roof being torn into tiny strips like some grandiose patchwork project. The ballpark was supposed to be a “temporary base camp” for first responders and was set up to host up to 10,000 people via cots on the field; those plans were obviously scuttled.
The Rays aren’t scheduled to play at the Trop again until March 27 when they were supposed to open the 2025 season against the Colorado Rockies. It seems unlikely that the game will be played at its originally intended location, but the club hopes to have more of a concrete plan in the coming weeks. The franchise is opening a new stadium on an adjacent site in 2028.
