Klamath County planning hearing closes record on 200‑MW Diamond Solar project; decision pending

Klamath County planning staff and the applicant presented a proposed 200‑megawatt photovoltaic project near Diamond Lake Junction at a joint planning commission/board hearing Oct. 28, 2025; the evidentiary record was closed for later deliberation.

Invenergy project manager Abby Wright said Diamond Solar would interconnect to Pacific Power’s 230 kV line and occupy roughly 1,300 fenced acres within a leased 1,560‑acre parcel. Wright told the commission the facility would include about 405,000 solar panels, a battery energy‑storage area, an operations and maintenance building and a small substation. “Two hundred megawatts of solar could power 40,000 homes on an annual basis,” Wright said during her sworn testimony.

Why it matters: the proposal combines a county land‑use exception to Goal 4 (forest lands) with a conditional‑use permit because of its size in a forestry zone. Staff told the commission the application includes 56 written findings and an extensive record of site surveys, agency coordination and environmental analyses intended to meet county code and state standards, but the county must still adopt findings and issue a final decision.

What was presented: staff described the layout as two separated solar arrays with an approximately 600–700‑foot vegetated wildlife passage between them, an 8‑foot chain‑link fence around the fenced area and an…