Montezuma County enacts six-month moratorium on utility-scale solar; approves permit amendment, contracts and loans

Montezuma County commissioners on April 15 voted to temporarily halt acceptance of new utility-scale solar power applications for six months while the county considers updates to its land-use code.

The board approved Resolution 6-2025, which prohibits the county planning department from accepting new applications for utility-scale solar power generation for a period of six months or until appropriate standards are incorporated into the Montezuma County Land Use Code, whichever comes first. The resolution defines utility-scale generation for the moratorium as facilities of 1 megawatt or greater and excludes applications submitted prior to the April 8 public hearing and rooftop or small systems sited on individual residential or commercial structures.

The moratorium followed public comment at an April 8 hearing and discussion at the board's workshop. "The Planning and Zoning Department has requested to address solar power generation facilities in the context of a Renewable Energy Master Plan and or appropriate revisions to the Montezuma County Land Use Code," the staff-prepared resolution states. Commissioner discussion referenced recent state legislation adding nuclear energy to the list of clean energy resources, which they said warrants consideration as part of…