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Why is Western Colorado seeing so many solar moratoriums?
Across America, solar infrastructure is on the rise, and at the state level, Colorado is seeking to be at the forefront of innovation and adoption.
Historic federal funding opportunities for rural communities like ours are being disbursed through the Inflation Reduction Act, numerous bills increasing solar opportunities are being introduced at the state legislature, and Colorado’s Greenhouse Gas Reduction Roadmap is pushing the state to decrease reliance on fossil fuels at a rate faster than almost anywhere in the nation.
But progress in America, for anyone who has paid attention to history, is never a linear process, and that remains true when we look at our energy transition in Colorado.
Despite the historic gains we have made, there are always going to be those who wish to stand in the way. What this has looked like recently in Colorado, especially Western Colorado, is the passage of solar moratoriums by county commissioners who are, in some cases, seeking to delay the implementation of new solar infrastructure for our communities.
Moratoriums on new solar infrastructure have been placed in counties such as San Miguel, Delta, and Montrose already, with Mesa County as the newest to pass a moratorium. Each county has different reasons for passing a solar moratorium, and some are more reasonable than others.
It is important to highlight that short-term moratoriums on solar are not inherently a bad thing, and there are valid concerns that need to be addressed if we want to move forward with new clean energy infrastructure in the most responsible way that respects our diverse communities and their needs.
The moratoriums that have been adopted so far have been put in place for numerous reasons, including a fear that key agricultural land will be usurped by massive solar farms, impacts to viewsheds, community impacts, neighbors who do not want to see them near their homes, impact to wildlife corridors, and misplaced fears that solar farms are not safe and can start fires.
Each of these concerns needs to be addressed and included within Land Use Codes and Conditional Use Permitting processes, and as things stand, many counties have not updated their codes since the early 2000’s to reflect the new clean energy boom happening in our state today.
With that in mind, I want to highlight Mesa County as being one of the counties that have passed a moratorium for the right reasons and the right way.
In late December, the Mesa County Board of Commissioners was confronted by members of the community in Palisade who were concerned about several proposed solar developments.
This development highlighted the need to revise the codes to reflect the concerns of the community while still remaining true to the county’s commitment to the energy transition stated in the Master Plan adopted last year.
The Board of Commissioners has been entirely open and transparent in the scope and scale of the moratorium they have enacted, hosting three meetings in just the last month seeking community input.
The commissioners have stated in no uncertain terms that this moratorium should take no longer than six months to complete the code revision process, and pushed back on a community member who asked that they deny all new solar projects for two years.
The commissioners have also actively sought to work with the community and our Alliance to ensure these codes are reasonable, they address the concerns brought forward but also do not restrict solar development in a way that would be unreasonable.
We commend the Mesa County Board of Commissioners for their smart and well-founded approach to new solar codes and look forward to seeing a reasonable set of codes adopted for solar infrastructure so we can continue our energy transition in the fairest and most respectful way possible.
Tyler grew up in Grand Junction, graduating from Fruita Monument High School and attending Colorado Mesa University where he graduated in 2016. Since then, Tyler has spent the last six years working on political campaigns of all types from city council and school board up to presidential campaigns at the state level. Tyler is passionate about issues including conservation, energy, and responsible growth of the Western Slope.