The San Benito County Planning Commission will have its final
opportunity to discuss the Panoche Valley solar farm on Wednesday,
as the commission will hold a public hearing for the project’s
conditional use permit.
The San Benito County Planning Commission will have its final opportunity to discuss the Panoche Valley solar farm on Wednesday, as the commission will hold a public hearing for the project’s conditional use permit.
The Solargen Energy Panoche Valley project was originally proposed as a 420-megawatt photovoltaic project that would span 4,885 acres in the southeast San Benito County. But after last week’s hearing, where the board of supervisors approved the final environmental impact report and the cancellations of Williamson Act contracts, Solargen proposed a slightly scaled-back project that would lower the overall wattage to 399 megawatts.
The three to four million solar panels will be moved to the northern section of the designated area to help create a buffer between the neighboring homes and school, according to last week’s presentation. The newly redesigned project would reduce the overall impact to the environment.
The public hearing for the conditional use permit will be the last time the planning commission will review the project. If the commission approves the permit – the development agreement will be seen by the board of supervisors soon after.
Regardless of the decision, though, the planning department is prepared for an appeal, Assistant Planning Director Byron Turner said.
“We are expecting an appeal,” Turner said.
If the approval or disapproval is appealed, the decision regarding the use permit would go in front of the board of supervisors, he said.
The planning commission meeting is at 6 p.m. Wednesday in the Board of Supervisor Chambers.
