RBC | RBC residents packed the county courthouse Tuesday to speak their minds on the White River Valley Solar Project (WRVSP), a renewable energy generation facility proposed approximately 6 miles west of Meeker in the Josephine Basin. Following extensive public comment the board continued a resolution to approve or deny the solar farm until additional questions have been addressed.
The land in question is owned by county residents Reed Kelley, Kathleen Kelley and Joe Sullivan who have long envisioned the continuation of their family’s legacy through the development of solar energy production on their land. The project would encompass 1,400 acres total, of which 500 would have solar panels.
Florida-based energy company NextEra sought approval for the project from the commissioners after conducting landowner negotiations, environmental studies and two public planning commission (PC) meetings. The most recent PC meeting resulted in a unanimous vote (7-0) to recommend the board of county commissioners approve the project. In a letter to county commissioners, Kelley emphasized the planning commission’s comments about NextEra’s engagement with the public process up to this point. “We were pleased to learn directly during the hearing from a planning commission member that NextEra Energy had gone ‘above and beyond’ in their planning process to address wildlife concerns,” said Kelley.
Despite the process, adjacent landowners, nearby residents, and commissioners voiced perceived concerns, some of which included:
– impacts to wildlife migration and habitat
– long term remediation/environmental cleanup
– proximity to property boundaries
– reflectiveness of solar panels
– impacts to neighboring property values
Still other residents spoke in favor of the project by drawing attention to the developer’s efforts to consider and incorporate wildlife and other environmental concerns into their planning process. Other arguments in favor included:
– economic development for the region
– diversification of the regional grid for increased reliability/redundancy
– the rights of private landowners to use their own land as they see fit
– environmental sustainability/reduced impact compared to other forms of energy production
NEXTERA ENERGY
NextEra’s Project Director Ashard Moore shared a presentation before public comment, highlighting the team of subject matter experts contributing toward the project. Their expertise includes big game experts, ecologists, biologists, legal counsel, permit specialists and more. He also shared general details about NextEra and the proposed project.
“We’re not new to the state of Colorado. We’ve been developing our projects in the state for over 15 years, and we have about 14 renewable energy projects in operation,” Moore said. These projects are part of a significantly larger operation that totals “about $126 billion in total assets” making NextEra one of the largest renewable energy developers/wholesalers in the country.
“The White River Valley Solar Project aims to create 150 megawatts of solar power,” said Moore. According to estimates, that level of generation would generate enough to power 25K homes. “The project is expected to employ about 200 people during an 18 to 24 month construction period,” stated Moore, also describing how the increase to area employment would have secondary benefits. “You’re going to see an economic boost in all of the other service industries in the area, i.e. hotels, restaurants and commercial businesses,” said Moore.
TAX REVENUE
NextEra estimates the project will generate $30 million of tax revenue over the course of its approximately 30 year lifespan. County officials including Assessor Renae Nielson questioned this number during this week’s meeting. Nielson estimated around $38K annual revenue from the project which would be closer to $5 million over the course of the project lifespan.
WILDLIFE/MIGRATION
Various residents expressed concerns about how solar panels could negatively impact wildlife, particularly migration of elk and deer through the area. Moore insisted that NextEra had done their due diligence on environmental studies including for wildlife migration. “We have about three biologists, experts to discuss all the studies that we’ve gone through with our project,” said Moore.
Colorado Parks and Wildlife (CPW) staff made comments noting how NextEra had engaged with CPW on the subject of mitigating wildlife impacts, despite not being required to do so since the proposed development is on private land. They also noted that the proposed project will affect a major migration corridor for deer and elk populations. Studies and other efforts to determine how solar panels may affect migrating herds have not conclusively shown what level of impact the project might have.
One specific approach proposed by NextEra to mitigating wildlife impacts is creating 20-foot lanes between solar panel clusters for animals to pass through. CPW Wildlife Biologist Darby Finley said the impacts to migration are still unclear. “I think the thing that nobody knows at this point is that those animals won’t use those pathways because it will be up to them, or whether they will actually change their route around.”
PRIVATE PROPERTY RIGHTS
Adjacent landowners argued the project would impact their property rights, including altering their views. “It’s going to be really horrific standing in our cabin site and looking across Josephine Basin,” said Zippy Shults, adding “our view is completely going to be solar panels.” Chad Carter, another landowner, said, “I’m all about private property rights, but don’t forget our property rights.”
Kathleen Kelley noted in her letter to the board that the types of restrictions being proposed on the project, including a halt to construction during certain times of year were violating private rights. “While this might be common or accepted practice for public land, it is an overreach and an intrusion on private land. We would hope the county commission does not entertain this overreach.”
OTHER CONCERNS
Caitlin Quander, local land use counsel for NextEra requested a continuance from the board to allow NextEra time to answer new questions raised during Tuesday’s meeting. She said the focus would be on resolving property tax estimate discrepancies, additional information on wildlife/environmental studies and potential for a remediation/cleanup bond.
The board continued the resolution to approve or deny the White River Valley Solar Project until a second public hearing scheduled for May 23, 2023.
REGULAR BUSINESS
In other business, the board approved:
– A lease agreement with the Meeker Colorado Civic Improvement Corporation for the Fairfield apartments. RBC Commissioner Doug Overton noted the contract only lasts for one month and is only a lease between the BoCC and MCCIC and is not related to specific apartment leases.
– A continuation of upgrades to the Blanco County Public Health and Environmental Service’s ability to effectively respond to a range of public health threats.
– Extension of the 2022 RBC Rangely fleet fueling dispenser replacement project from April 17, 2023, to Sept. 30, 2023, and increase to the scope of work for the installation of a new fuel management system for the meter fuel dispenser dispensers and fuel tank monitoring system.
– Raley Minor Subdivision (PSUB-0001-23) and Rezone (RZ-0001-23): County planner Leif Joy said the lots for the subdivision are 7.31 and 8.83 acres with a remaining parcel of 35 acres on the property.
The board finished Tuesday’s meeting with an executive session “for the purpose of receiving legal advice on specific legal questions and pursuant to §24-6-402(4)(e) C.R.S., determining positions relative to matters that may be subject to negotiations, and instructing negotiators regarding the Central Square contract.”
BY LUCAS TURNER
