Draft rules would only apply to solar plants over 50 megawatts By MATT HILDNER
THE PUEBLO CHIEFTAIN ALAMOSA - With the prospect of utility-scale solar plants and a new transmission line being proposed in the coming years, county commissioners last week rolled out a draft of proposed regulations.
The draft rules, which stem from a state law allowing counties to regulate matters of state interest, would require companies to identify the impacts of their projects on air quality, water and agriculture, among other issues, before being permitted by the county.
"The county commission of Alamosa County does want to do business and we want to make sure we do it properly," Commissioner Darius Allen said.
The county already has dealt with an 8.2-megawatt solar power plant near Mosca using a conditional use permit. However, the 1041 process, a set of rules based on a 1974 state law, sets specific benchmarks for projects that would require a permit.
An application to build a power plant over 50 MW would trigger regulation under the 1041 rules. Likewise, the construction of a new transmission line such as the proposal from Xcel Energy and Tri-State Generation and Transmission Association to build a line into the valley from Walsenburg also would have to go through the process. The commissioners, who drew off the experience of Prowers County in regulating wind projects, and Otero County and its efforts to mitigate the impacts of water transfers, included a chapter of regulations aimed at addressing the effects of industrial water projects.
In this case, the concern would lie with some forms of concentrated solar power technology that require large quantities of water, said Allen.
Under the permitting process, companies would have to identify how their project's water use would affect wetlands, groundwater recharge areas and agricultural areas, among other areas.
Another chapter would designate the county's irrigated lands as a natural resource of statewide importance.
Those lands are key to the county's economy and also offer a home to wildlife species, the rules note.
Revegetation plans to prevent the spread of weeds would be an option for the commissioners to require in the event a project included the dry-up of more than 3 acres of irrigated land.
The proposals did draw comments from companies hoping to develop facilities in the county, including North Carolina-based Cogentrix, which has submitted a proposal to Xcel Energy to build a solar plant northeast of Alamosa.
J.E. Freeman, the company's vice president, told the commissioners they should consider streamlining the process given that not all project details would be finalized when it came time to submit a permit application.
He added that provisions for reimbursement of county expense, financial guarantees and the county's right to terminate for permit violations would be concerns to the financial backers of a project.
"The lending community, particularly in today's environment, does not like uncertainty," he said.
Jeffrey Durocher of Iberdrola Renewables in Portland, Ore., told the commissioners the rules cast too broad a net.
His company is working on a photovoltaic solar power project that would not use significant amounts of water, nor be above the 50-MW threshold.
Yet because the company would need to build what Durocher called a short transmission line, the project would have to go through the permitting process.
The commissioners have a 30-day window to adopt, partially adopt or reject the proposed rules.
matth@chieftain.com
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