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Storey County approves special-use permit for solar field at Tahoe Reno Industrial Center
Summary
The Board of County Commissioners unanimously approved Special Use Permit 2025-022 to allow a solar-generating field at 875 Innovation Way in the Tahoe Reno Industrial Center; county staff and the planning commission recommended approval.
The Storey County Board of County Commissioners on April 15 unanimously approved a special-use permit allowing a solar-generating field to operate at 875 Innovation Way in McCarran, inside the Tahoe Reno Industrial Center.
The permit, numbered 2025-022, allows the facility — described in county code as an “electric generating plant” — to produce electricity that will be used on-site and on adjacent properties owned by the applicant, Redwood Battery and Materials. County planning staff and the Story County Planning Commission both recommended approval after noticing produced no public objections.
Kathy (county planning staff) told commissioners the company had already started work on the site as an accessory energy source for a data center on the property and later asked to use the generated electricity on other properties owned by the company. "By doing that, that changes what the land use is for the property," Kathy said, and the energy-generating portion therefore requires the special-use permit.
Kathy read the staff findings into the record, citing conformance with the 2024 Story County master plan for the McCarran planning area and compliance with the 1999 Storey County zoning code, chapter 17.62 (special uses) and 17.37 (heavy industrial). The staff report concluded the proposal "will be compatible with and will not cause substantial negative impact on adjacent land uses" and noted the planning commission had recommended approval following its April 3 hearing.
Vice chairman Commissioner Mitchell moved to approve the permit in accordance with the planning commission and staff recommendations. The motion passed unanimously.
The permit record lists the site as Assessor's Parcel Number 005-012-61 and identifies the applicant's industrial property as located in the Tahoe Reno Industrial Center at 875 Innovation Way.
The board did not receive public comment at the hearing and no conditions beyond the standard staff-recommended conditions were read into the record.
Looking ahead, staff will follow up on permitting compliance and any conditions attached to the approval as part of routine project monitoring.
