The Sandoval County Planning and Zoning Commission unanimously recommends that the county commission approve a request by an Argentina-based energy developer for a zoning change that would allow a controversial solar farm with battery storage to move forward.
The planning and zoning commission voted on the zone change during a lengthy meeting Tuesday evening in which many of the nearby residents expressed opposition to the proposed solar project.
The proposal now goes to the Sandoval County Commission.
The current plans for the Diamond Tail solar project include 220 megawatts of solar panels and another 110 megawatts of battery storage.
Many of the opponents say they like the concept, but they think that the Diamond Tail Ranch is the wrong location. They say that it is a scenic area where community members have been working to promote conservation and increase outdoor recreation opportunities. They say the solar arrays could impact tourism. But the main concern addressed by most of the opponents was the risk of lithium-ion battery fires. Opponents are also concerned about increased traffic and water use.
The zoning change is one of the hurdles that PCR U.S. Investments must clear before it can build the Diamond Tail solar project.
The solar project would be located in a small section of Sandoval County land in the East Mountains off of New Mexico Highway 14 near the communities of Golden, Paa Ko, San Pedro Creek and San Pedro Overlook.
Roch Hart is the ranch manager at Diamond Tail Ranch, where the project could be built. He spoke about the challenges the ranch has faced in earning income and said leasing a section of the ranch to PCR will help support conservation projects such as removing invasive plant species.
The economic benefits won’t end with Diamond Tail Ranch. The solar project represents an approximate $450 million investment into Sandoval County. PCR says that the project will create about 300 construction jobs, most of which will be hired from the local community. It will also create 15 to 20 permanent jobs. Sandoval County could also see $30 million of property tax revenue over the life of the project.
“There’s certainly a lot of economic development that’s going to be shared for the local community and the local economy,” Mariano Brandi with PCR U.S. Investments said.
Should PCR U.S. Investments receive the zoning change, it will still need to enter into an agreement with an electric utility that will buy the power and that agreement will require approval from the New Mexico Public Regulation Commission.
PCR U.S. Investments is hoping that the state’s largest utility, the Public Service Company of New Mexico, will enter into an agreement to buy the power.
People who live near Diamond Tail receive their electricity from Central New Mexico Cooperative and they are afraid they will bear the brunt of the risks associated with the project without reaping any of the benefits.
Mark Benson, a nearby resident, told about an incident where a fire started and it took 45 minutes for emergency responders to arrive on scene. Benson brought a bouquet of grasses and other plants he’d collected from a section of his property as an example of the types of vegetation in the area.
“My son uses that for tinder if we build a little fire in the backyard,” he said.
PCR brought fire safety expert Todd LaBerge on to assess the risks associated with the project. While LaBerge said there are some risks associated with lithium-ion batteries, he said that those risks are low and that the technology is improving. He said the Tesla technology that PCR plans on using has been tested and those tests have found that they don’t ignite easily and, when burned, the smoke produced does not contain high levels of toxic gases.
“This particular system has intentionally been ignited to determine its potential for fire spread, rather than theory. They know how it burns,” he said.
Jim DesJardins, executive director of the Renewable Energy Industry Association of New Mexico, said his organization has a policy to not endorse any specific project. At the same time, he said New Mexico needs projects like the Diamond Tail solar project as it transitions away from fossil fuels.
“If we wait for perfection, we will never get anything done,” he said. “And meanwhile the climate change clock keeps on ticking.”