On March 13 Opalco filed a notice of application with the County for a permit for a power plant at the corner of Douglas and Bailer Hill rd. The property is just under 20 acres and their proposal calls for a 20% coverage of the property with solar panels and misc. support structures. There will be a non-permeable pad that is 115ft x 135ft (15,525sq ft.) for batteries and transformers that will be surrounded by a 10ft. cyclone security fence. The entire property will also be fenced and screen landscaping is planned along the roads. The two pairs of Bald Eagles that call the large firs on this property their home and hunting grounds are not mentioned in Opalcos' 110 page application. Their roosting Fir trees are to be removed.

 

This property is the SE corner of the San Juan Valley and it is designated for Ag use. The county has determined that this power plant fits the Ag zoning designation because the panels only cover 20% of the surface of the property. The AG zoning also calls for the county to take into account the aesthetic implications of a proposed project such as this one. Opalco has not really addressed the visual impacts that the project will have on the area or on the views across the entire San Juan Valley. This project will have the “charm” of a penitentiary and will most certainly ruin the aesthetics of this well traveled corner.

 

The public comment period lasts for the next 3 weeks and closes on April 3. The project then goes before the Hearing Examiner for approval on April 24th. We are not given much time for our consideration!