Supervisors to vote on permits for power facility
The Yuma County Board of Supervisors will vote on four special use permits requested by McFarland Solar LLC, which wants to expand a power generating facility north of Dateland which will soon be under construction.
The Tempe-based development company, formed by a descendant of former Arizona senator/governor/ chief justice Ernest McFarland, has been assembling land from different owners for a solar generating center just south of Palomas Road and east of Avenue 64 E, north of the Gila River bed.
The 1,546 acres covered by these permits are just to the east of three properties totaling 1,760 acres, for which the McFarland obtained special use permits late last year. Projected output for those properties is 290 megawatts.
The projected total output for all eight parcels at buildout is 520 megawatts, enough to power 90,000 homes, according to Adam Furman of Sustainable Energy Group or sPower, the company which will install and operate the solar panels. He spoke at the Aug. 28 Planning and Zoning Commission meeting, where the project won a unanimous positive recommendation.
First Solar’s Agua Caliente 290-megawatt solar generating station, in operation since 2014, is north of Palomas Road, and just north of that is another permitted First Solar project, White Wing Ranch. No building permits have been issued for either White Wing Ranch or the land already permitted by McFarland, according to a county staff report.
The panels will be 5 feet high and 7 feet wide, generally non-reflective, and mounted on poles pile-driven into the ground, which Furman said will make them less disruptive to the surrounding desert and easier to remove when they are taken out at the end of their useful lives, about 25 years.
They will be fenced and monitored by onsite staff around the clock, he said, and can be controlled or shut down from the company headquarters in Salt Lake City when necessary.
Construction is expected to last from mid-2018 through 2019, and create up to 500 temporary jobs. Permanent staff once the project is complete will be much smaller. Furman said the company is in negotiations with two potential customers.
The Arizona Department of Transportation is requesting a traffic study, and the state Game and Fish Department has recommended that the development avoid disturbing any of the three washes which run across the property and employ surveys, permits (when needed) and limit activities during certain breeding seasons. Furman said the company will work with these and other state agencies as needed.
The board meeting will begin at 9 a.m. on Monday in the Board of Supervisors auditorium at 198 S. Main St., Yuma. Also on the agenda:
• A $1.1 million contract with DPE Construction of Yuma to install storm drains along North Frontage Road between Fortuna Road and Foothills Boulevard.
• Rezoning of a 10-acre parcel at 2526 E. County 15 1/2 Street owned by Dania Corral from Rural Area-10 acre minimum to Suburban Site Built-2 acre minimum.
• Rezoning of a 10-acre property near Avenue 4 1/2E and County 12 3/4 Street owned by Clayton Revocable Trust from Rural Area-10 acre minimum to Suburban Site Built-2 acre minimum.
• A presentation from the Human Resources Department comparing employee benefits with other Arizona counties and private-sector businesses.
• A worksession to hear a presentation from Russ Jones on costs, benefits and services from membership in the Border Trade Alliance and the Arizona-Mexico Commission.
The regular meeting will be followed by a closed executive session for discussion of three topics:
• The county’s position in a zoning violation case now in the Arizona Court of Appeals, Yuma County vs. Maria and Rosa Valenzuela
• Receiving legal advice and considering its position on the agreement between El Prado Improvement District and Sierra Pacific Mobile Home Park.
• County Administrator Susan Thorpe’s mid-year performance evaluation.
The regular meeting will be broadcast on the county’s cable channel, Yuma77, and webcast and available for streaming at www.yumacountyaz.gov.