The agriculture-zoned project site, located near the city of Blue Lake, will host a 26-acre solar array. It鈥檚 expected to produce four mega-watts of power a year, enough to provide electricity to 1,200 homes.
The project is the county鈥檚 first test of what鈥檚 known as 鈥渁grovoltaic鈥� planning, the idea that solar power arrays can co-exist with agriculture.
Cattle grazing on the project site won鈥檛 continue but the plan is to switch to smaller animals, such as sheep. A beekeeping 鈥減ollinator meadow鈥� will also be created as part of the project.
A permit for the project was discussed and approved at the county Planning Commission鈥檚 April 1 meeting.
County Planner Joshua Dorris said the solar array will consist of 14,000 panels with a maximum height of eight feet.
The project is a milestone in the county鈥檚 quest to expand locally-generated power with renewable sources. It鈥檚 also a first effort in what a written staff report describes as 鈥渁 growing understanding that agriculture and photovoltaic systems can effectively co-exist.鈥�
鈥淭his is somewhat charting new waters,鈥� Dorris told commissioners.
The project has gained substantial support but the county has also fielded written and videoconference comments on potential visual and noise impacts.
Dorris displayed pre- and post-development renderings showing minor visual changes to the project site. The panels will track the position of the sun through motor-driven mechanisms which create minimal noise, he said.
Traffic impacts will be also be minimal because the only employees onsite will be those who do maintenance checks six times a year.
The permit applicant, Renewable Properties, LLC, has done solar projects throughout the country. Aaron Halimi, the company鈥檚 president, noted that state law requires 100 percent of electric retail sales to be sourced from zero-carbon sources by 2045.
鈥淓veryone needs to do their part in California,鈥� he said.
During a public comment period, some people who live near the site questioned whether alternative locations such as brownfield sites could be used and said a chain link fence surrounding the site would create visual impact.
There was also some doubt about whether the agricultural use will be enough to comply with a 鈥渘o net loss鈥� policy.
But comments were mostly in support of the project. Energy researcher Jim Zoellick, who helped the county develop its General Plan Energy Element, said the project is 鈥渆xactly the type of project that the Energy Element intended to encourage.鈥�
He added, 鈥淔or us to mitigate our carbon footprint, we cannot just purchase renewable energy from outside the area.鈥�
Cathy Chandler-Klein is looking forward seeing the solar array.
鈥淔or me, when I see the solar panels out there 鈥� hopefully 鈥� they will be quite beautiful because what I will see is an alternative to the impending ravages of climate change,鈥� she said. Solar energy advocate Kit Mann recalled the county鈥檚 denial of the Terra-Gen wind energy project in late 2019 and said that it 鈥渒ind of said to outside energy developers that maybe we weren鈥檛 ready for alternative energy projects.鈥�
Rejecting this one would 鈥渟et a disastrous precedent in that large green energy projects would be very hesitant to come to Humboldt County because we are not a welcoming community,鈥� he continued.
Most commissioners did welcome the project, with Commissioner Brian Mitchell declaring that 鈥渨e are in the middle of a climate emergency鈥� before he made a motion to approve its conditional use permit.
Commissioner Mike Newman cast the only dissent vote. He had asked Halimi if overhead power transmission lines can be undergrounded and was told that it would trigger a major redesign and significantly delay the project.
The solar-generated power will be fed into the grid and managed by the Redwood Coast Energy Authority, the county鈥檚 energy agency.