On Tuesday, Dec. 10, the San Bernardino County Board of Supervisors denied an appeal filed by residents over the county planning commission’s approval of San Francisco-based Clearway Energy Group’s plans for a solar-generating facility on about 3,500 acres near the Barstow-Daggett airport.
While supervisors’ decision upholds the project’s approval, they asked the developer to keep it farther away from nearby homes and to use technology to monitor dust and air quality.
“You have half the members in the room that are residents supporting this. You have the other half so far not supporting it and it’s a struggle,” Supervisor Robert Lovingood said. “My biggest concern is what’s the direct impact on someone’s house?”
In September, planning commissioners unanimously approved the project which includes a 650-megawatt photovoltaic solar power generating facility with up to 450 megawatts of battery-storage capacity.
The Newberry Community Services District, which provides fire protection, parks and recreation and street lighting services to residents in Daggett and Newberry Springs, appealed the commissioners’ decision and asked supervisors to reject the project.
District officials say there are deficiencies in the project’s environmental documents and it violates the county’s rules on solar projects. They say that storing energy at the plant would be unsafe and the project will harm the water supply and air quality. Mainly, they worry construction will increase dust in the area and affect residents’ health.
“We don’t believe this project should be built where it’s proposed to be built,” Jack Unger, district director, said.
The Daggett project is one of a few that were already being reviewed by the county when supervisors voted in February to prohibit utility-oriented renewable energy development in rural zones and most unincorporated communities. The decision restricted such development to areas already used for agriculture and mining and the remote areas of Amboy, El Mirage, Hinkley, Kramer Junction and Trona.
For the past few years, desert residents have been calling on the county to ban these type of projects to protect communities from potential health hazards caused by blowing dust, which increases when desert land is disturbed by construction. They have also cited the protection of scenic views and preservation of habitat and wildlife as reasons to prohibit large solar development.
When supervisors approved the ban, they agreed to let developers apply for a General Plan amendment, or a boundary change, if they have a site that meets the county’s criteria but is within the prohibited zones. Any exception would require supervisor approval.
Terri Rahhal, director of the county’s land use services, said that other than a part of the project property being zoned for rural neighborhoods it complies with the new rules because it’s proposed for land that’s already been used for agriculture, it’s near other energy facilities and has transmission lines.
The solar project has undergone a rigorous county review for the past two years, said James Kelly, senior director of development for Clearway.
The solar facility would replace the retired Coolwater natural gas-fired plant with clean, renewable energy, has enhanced safety features and a dust-control plan that would improve the land’s conditions, Kelly said.
“We will be a good long-term steward of the land,” Kelly said.
The facility will be built over the next several years, with construction expected to start in 2020. The first phase would be online in 2021, followed by the second and third phases by 2023.
Once complete, there would be eight to 12 employees onsite and millions of dollars in tax revenue to the county, according to Clearway.
Kelly said there are seven to eight homes in closest proximity to the project’s later phases. The closet home to where solar panels are proposed is about 185 feet, he said.
Kelly said they will take nearby homes into consideration in the design to minimize the impact.
Supervisors heard from about two dozen residents, both for and against the project, and union members who supported the 500 construction jobs it could create.
Jesse Wright, a member of Local Union 783, said he’s been out of work for several months, but has worked on similar projects out of the area.
“If there’s an opportunity for me and my brothers and sisters in the union to work closer to home and be with our families, that would be awesome,” the Apple Valley resident said.
Several Newberry Springs residents, said the jobs are a temporary benefit, while effects on air quality and property values are permanent.
“When they leave, they have 12 jobs and we’re stuck living with the air quality and a great view of hundreds and hundreds of solar panels,” Newberry Springs resident Margie Roberts said. “The county gets money from taxes for this development and the residents get nothing. There is nothing for us to benefit from in Newberry Springs and you can’t buy my lungs.”
©2019 the San Bernardino County Sun (San Bernardino, Calif.). Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.
