Shocking drone footage has revealed the devastation at a Florida solar farm after a tornado spawned by Hurricane Milton leveled its panels.
The storm’s fierce winds slammed into the Lake Placid solar power plant in Highlands County, leaving 97 percent of the county without power immediately afterward.
Incredible aerial images of Duke of energy shows the extent of the destruction of the $100 million facility that supplies power to 12,000 homes.
The plant was inaugurated in December 2019.
Shocking drone footage has revealed the devastation at a Florida solar farm after a tornado spawned by Hurricane Milton leveled its panels.
The storm’s fierce winds slammed into the Lake Placid solar power plant in Highlands County, leaving 97 percent of the county without power immediately afterward.
More than 43,000 customers were still without power as of Friday morning, Duke spokeswoman Audrey Stasko told the Highland News-Sunnoting that damage to the panels “has no effect on customer demand.”
Todd Fountain, storm director for Duke Energy Florida, described the destruction after the storm.
“From downed trees and branches falling on our power lines to storm surge flooding our equipment, causing almost immediate corrosion, our infrastructure was severely damaged by Hurricane Milton,” he said.
‘We are making repairs where we can, but we anticipate that we will need to rebuild in many areas.
Incredible aerial images from Duke Energy show the extent of the destruction of the $100 million facility that powers 12,000 homes.
“Despite this, our teams are doing everything they can, including working all night, to get the lights back on for as many customers as possible as soon as possible.”
The company warned that some areas may face extended outages due to flooding and tornado damage.
Meanwhile, the Highlands County Sheriff’s Office asked the public for patience, urging locals not to bombard emergency services with calls about electricity.
