A lawsuit against Solargen Energy and the county threatens to
delay the building phase of the 399-megawatt photovoltaic solar
project, as the litigation would need to be completed before
construction could start.
A lawsuit against Solargen Energy and the county threatens to delay the building phase of the 399-megawatt photovoltaic solar project, as the litigation would need to be completed before construction could start.
The joint lawsuit by Save Panoche Valley and the Santa Clara Audubon Society accuses the San Benito County Board of Supervisors of abusing its discretion in reviewing the document related to the solar project. The lawsuit asks the board to repeal its approval of the project and the accompanying document, such as the cancellation of the Williams Act contracts.
The document criticizes the decisions that were made Nov. 10 by the board that approved the project that will span about 4,885 acres in the Panoche Valley. Also, more than 10,000 acres of additional land will be set aside for conservation.
The lawsuit, along with other statewide approvals, will prevent Solargen from starting construction, said county counsel Matthew Granger. Because the lawsuit involves the approval of the environmental impact report, it would need to be solved before moving forward.
Regardless, Solargen will still need to get state permits in order to build, Granger said.
“This is one of the many things on a list of things to do,” he said.
County representatives are busy gathering all the documents to show the judge that the board used all the information when it came to a decision, Granger said. The writ of mandate lawsuit will allow the county to present all the information to a judge, who will make the decision without a jury.
In the meantime, Solargen will continue working with state Fish & Game and other environmental agencies to finalize their mitigation plan, Solargen Chief Executive Office Michael Peterson said.
“There are always things to do,” Peterson said.
Solargen will continue to move forward and work toward receiving its leftover permits and finalize the mitigation plan, he said. Solargen doesn’t expect the lawsuit to hold up the project for long.
“We think the county did a very good job, and the claims are without merit,” he said.
Peterson doesn’t expect the claims to hold up in court.
“I think that it’s unfortunate that they decided to file a lawsuit – they are just trying to slow down or stop the project,” Peterson said.
Solargen expects to start construction by the third quarter of next year, Peterson said.
Save the Panoche Valley representative Kim Williams said this was the next step for her group after the board decided to move forward with the project.
“We would all like solar, but it needs to be properly placed,” she said.
Williams hopes the lawsuit will eventually halt it, she said.
“And that’s what it boils down to,” she said.
A case management hearing is set for March 16.
