Huerfano County hearing on Delta Solar permit draws questions on wetlands, roads, fire safety and decommissioning

Huerfano County officials and the county planning commission, sitting jointly as a permit review panel, heard a public hearing on Delta Solar Energy’s application for a 10-41 permit (LU 25007) to build a utility-scale solar farm and battery energy storage facility on privately owned land north-northeast of Walsenburg.

The applicant’s representative, Dale Harris, told the panel the project would be sited on “a little over a thousand acres,” interconnect to a 230 kV Tri-State transmission line and would be “a 150 megawatts AC, approximately 195 megawatts DC with about a 75 megawatt size battery storage facility.” He estimated the project’s capital cost at about $259 million and said the company’s estimate of lifetime county tax revenue is roughly $20,500,000. Harris said construction would likely begin in 2028 if interconnection and offtake are secured, with a commercial operation date in 2029, and that peak construction employment would be about “200 to 250 jobs” while long‑term operations would be “around 2 to 5” positions.

County staff lawyer Skye summarized the county’s review role and criteria for a 10-41 permit, noting the code requires the board to determine whether “all relevant environmental impacts have been considered and mitigated,” whether the proposal “demonstrates sufficient benefit to Huerfano County,” and whether sufficient information has been provided. Skye recommended a set of conditions, including a noxious‑weed management plan reviewed with Colorado Parks…