Bannock County commissioners vote against large-scale solar and wind projects

POCATELLO — The Bannock County commissioners voted against allowing large-scale solar and wind projects to be developed in the county.

This decision was met with applause from a full audience at a Thursday work session meeting. The commissioners sent the proposed ordinance back to Bannock County Planning and Development Council.

“This is not the time or the place to be installing solar farms,” said Commissioner John Crowder.

The debate

Ever since residents of the Marsh Valley heard that at least two solar energy companies were eyeing the area for projects, many of them raised objections and concerns about the possibility. Hundreds of people attended a town hall on Feb. 5 and 51 people spoke.

At least two companies — Balanced Rock Power and Hecate Energy — were looking to come to the valley. Balanced Rock Power’s planned solar farm would have been around 2,400 acres and six landowners had signed a lease with the company.

Kat Bagri, manager of development of Balanced Rock, said the company decided to expand to Bannock County because of the local power infrastructure, demand in the area by PacifiCorp and plenty of sunshine.

Bagri said Balanced Rock Power was “disappointed” to hear the commissioners decision and they request that they reconsider and approve an ordinance that allows large-scale solar energy projects.

The objections from those in the community who were against solar panels included effects a solar farm could have on wildlife, overall safety and the natural beauty of the valley.

To give themselves more time to draft and pass an ordinance regulating large-scale energy projects, the commissioners passed a 180-day moratorium in September. Chairman Ernie Moser said with 45 days left on the moratorium, Planning and Development will have plenty of time to hold an open meeting and make changes based on the direction of the commissioners, and then bring the final draft of the ordinance back to them to pass.

While the commissioners could still change their mind based on what’s said in the public hearing, they’re pressed up against an April 10 deadline to pass an ordinance, or else the moratorium will end and a solar energy company could apply for a conditional-use permit.

Commissioner Jeff Hough said the county needed to pass an ordinance on large-scale energy projects because if it didn’t, those projects would be largely unregulated by county law.

Now that the direction of the ordinance has been decided, individual property owners will be able to have solar panels on their property, but they won’t be able to build large-scale solar farms or wind projects.

Community reaction

One of the most vocal voices in the community against solar panels was Rebecca Falcon, a resident of 29 years. After the commissioners voted, Falcon was “elated.”

“I am overwhelmed that our group was able to get the commissioners to understand the issues behind solar and even wind,” Falcon said.

For Steve Criddle, a fourth generation farmer in the Marsh Valley who hoped to earn money from leasing a portion of his property to Hecate Energy, the news made him feel like he was “kicked in the guts.”

“Was I gonna put the whole farm in? Heck, no, I wasn’t gonna put the whole farm in. I wouldn’t want to do that, but it sure would’ve made life a lot easier,” Criddle said.

Debbie Jensen, Falcon’s neighbor, also expressed concerns about the possibility of solar energy coming to the valley and was happy that the commissioners listened to their concerns.

“I’m very happy that we were heard by the commissioners. (They) looked at the facts, including our health and safety long-term and voted to make sure we didn’t have to battle all the things that the solar farm and even what wind farms could have brought to the area,” Jensen said.
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Lytton Bastian, a third-generation rancher, was the primary property owner for Balanced Rock Power’s proposed solar farm.

“I get the feeling that they’re (county commissioners) just bowing to the loudest voices and not really paying attention to the actual number of people that are opposing this,” Bastian said.

Bastian has felt disappointed seeing the reaction from the community to the potential solar project.

“It feels like this community really just doesn’t like to see change,” Bastian said.

Moser said he had three main issues with with a large-scale solar energy project.

The first was that he doesn’t think that the Downey Rural Fire Protection District — a volunteer fire department — would have the resources to handle a solar farm fire.

The second was that ever since wind farms went up in Power County, the county lost tax revenue, he said.

“I want to make sure that Bannock County doesn’t go backwards,” Moser said.

Moser’s third reason was that he didn’t want the pieces from the solar panels to fill up the Fort Hall Mine Landfill once they have to be decommissioned.

Bagri said that although solar farm batteries have caught fire before, that doesn’t typically happen anymore thanks to advancements in the batteries and increased regulations, like 24/7 monitoring, fire suppression and emergency shut off systems.

Balanced Rock Power said the solar farms would have brought in “millions of dollars per year” that could have been distributed to local infrastructure and services.

Bagri also said that this decision violates the rights of property owners to decide what they want to do with their private property.

“The decision from Bannock County commissioners does take away the property rights for many landowners in Downey that have decided to use their land in the way the think is best,” Bagri said.

Falcon said that while she was happy with the decision of the commissioners, she will keep paying attention to the process until the ordinance is passed.

“The time is not finished until the ink is dry on those ordinances,” Falcon said.

Criddle said that he planned to use the income he would’ve gotten from leasing some of his ground as his retirement. Now, he said that he hopes he’ll have better farming years in the future.

“I’ll (have) to work until I die,” Criddle said.

What’s next

The Planning and Development Council will hold a public hearing on the final draft of the ordinance on March 5 at Chubbuck City Hall at 5:15 p.m. and then vote on whether to send it back to the commissioners.

The commissioners will also hold a public hearing on the final draft of the ordinance, and then vote on whether to approve it. This meeting is tentatively set for March 26 in the Commissioners’ Chambers.