Commissioners deny preliminary approval for 199 MW AES Yampa Valley solar project after lengthy public hearing

The Moffat County Board of County Commissioners denied preliminary approval Feb. 25 of applications from AES Yampa Valley Solar LLC to rezone up to 2,200 acres and to permit a 199-megawatt solar photovoltaic facility paired with a 100-megawatt/4-hour (400 megawatt-hour) battery storage system, following a public hearing that drew more than two dozen speakers and detailed presentations from the developer and Colorado Parks and Wildlife.

The project team told commissioners the proposed site lies about 4 miles southwest of Craig along County Road 30 and Highway 40 and would sit within roughly 3,800 leased acres, with an initial fenced project footprint of roughly 1,400 acres and up to 2,200 acres to be rezoned to heavy industrial for the facility. AES representatives said the development life would be at least 30 years, construction would be phased and the company would remove equipment and restore land under a decommissioning plan at the end of the project.

AES development manager Grama Bascica described the company and the project, saying AES is a U.S.-based independent power producer that develops and operates renewable projects. Permitting lead Libby Fortin summarized on-site environmental work and said AES had avoided mapped greater sage-grouse habitat and redesigned fencing into separate array "pods" with wide breaks to preserve wildlife movement. Fortin said that coordination with Colorado Parks and Wildlife and other agencies informed mitigation measures and that additional…