Commissioners approve 4.7-mile transmission line CUP for Libra Solar, add road conditions after public concern

The Lyon County Board of County Commissioners on Feb. 20 approved a conditional use permit (CUP) to allow construction, operation and maintenance of an approximately 4.7-mile, 345-kilovolt generation transmission line to connect the Libra Solar project to the Fort Churchill substation, with conditions aimed at limiting local construction impacts.

The CUP covers about 113.8 acres of five parcels in Mason Valley and applies because this segment of the transmission line falls outside county-designated master plan utility corridors. The board voted to approve the CUP by recorded tally (yes: 3, no: 1) after extended staff presentations, developer testimony, state agency comments and more than an hour of public comment focused chiefly on traffic and road impacts along East Walker Road.

County planning staff told commissioners the request triggers the CUP because the proposed alignment lies outside the county’s broad utility corridor and because the design seeks to avoid sensitive habitat in the Mason Valley Wildlife Management Area. Lisa Nash, Lyon County senior planner, said the alignment “is intended to avoid the Mason Valley Wildlife Management Area as much as possible and minimize impacts” and noted that county approval would still require a later, more detailed ADR (administrative development review) for construction plans.

Andrew Haskin, Lyon County manager, told the board he concluded East Walker Road…