Santa Fe Planning Commission hears Rancho Viejo 96 MW solar and 48 MW/4‑hour battery storage proposal amid safety, water and land‑use debate

The Santa Fe County Planning Commission on Feb. 20 heard a multi‑hour presentation and cross‑examination of Rancho Viejo Solar LLC’s application for a conditional‑use permit to build a 96‑megawatt solar facility and a 48‑megawatt, four‑hour battery energy storage system (about 192 megawatt‑hours) on an 828‑acre, rural‑fringe parcel. County staff recommended the Planning Commission approve the CUP with 19 conditions, but the hearing produced extensive technical discussion of battery safety and wildfire risk and robust public comment both for and against the project.

The project would be sited on a private parcel addressed off State Road 14 about three miles south of the Santa Fe city limits. AES Clean Energy Development LLC is the applicant and Rancho Viejo Solar LLC is the project company. County staff told the commission the site plan calls for about 684 acres of the parcel to be developed with the solar arrays and ancillary facilities; the applicant has proposed a decommissioning bond and an application to remove development rights on surrounding acreage.

Why it matters: Santa Fe County and the state of New Mexico have formal climate and energy goals and the investor‑owned utility PNM is seeking clean resources. The project would add a sizable amount of solar and battery capacity to PNM’s portfolio; supporters say it will help meet mandated renewable targets and produce construction jobs and local economic activity. Opponents say the combination of lithium‑ion batteries and the site’s proximity to residential neighborhoods, schools and shallow wells creates unacceptable public‑safety, wildfire and property‑value risks.

What staff told the commission

County Growth Management Director Alexandra Ladd opened the staff presentation, stressing the roles of county staff, the hearing officer and the Planning Commission in the quasi‑judicial CUP process. Ladd summarized recent legal and policy changes the county considered while reviewing the application, including the 2021 New Mexico Community Solar Act and the Public Regulation Commission’s implementing rule adopted March 30, 2022, and a 2022 county resolution expressing Board policy interest in community solar on public land. She noted the county adopted NFPA 855‑based fire code changes in 2023 and that staff had worked with outside consultants.

Dominic Cisneros, the county’s case planner, outlined the application details and the staff findings: the project parcel is zoned rural‑fringe; Appendix B of the Sustainable Land Development Code allows commercial solar as a conditional use in that district; staff found the CUP submittal complete and recommended approval subject to 19 conditions the commission would record if it approved the CUP. Cisneros said access would be from State Road 14, that about 684 acres would be developed, and that the applicant has proposed transfer‑of‑development‑rights (TDR) applications to protect surrounding agricultural uses. He clarified that the nearest residence…