Grand County adopts two-year moratorium on commercial solar, wind and battery storage projects

The Grand County Board of County Commissioners voted June 24 to impose a two-year moratorium on new commercial or utility-scale energy collection facilities (solar, wind and battery storage) larger than 25 kilowatts in unincorporated Grand County.

Planning staff told commissioners that many Colorado counties have already adopted land-use rules for large renewable-energy facilities and recommended the moratorium while regulations are developed and the county's master plan is updated. Planning noted Grand County is more than 70% public land and has limited developable private acreage; commissioners were concerned about siting large 100'400-acre projects on open lands, wetlands and wildlife habitat.

Commissioners and planning staff said the moratorium will give the county time to solicit public input through the master-plan update process, coordinate with other agencies and review examples from counties such as Weld and Eagle. The moratorium was presented as a pause on application processing, review and construction of commercial-scale projects in unincorporated Grand County; it does not affect homeowner-scale systems (25 kW or less).

The board's motion set the moratorium effective immediately (June 24, 2025) for two years, through June 24, 2027. Planning staff said they will incorporate public discussion of renewable-energy siting, wildlife, agriculture, visual impact and decommissioning/repowering requirements into the master-plan process and return to the board with proposed regulatory language for public hearings.

Next steps: planning will include utility-scale renewable siting as a topic in the master-plan update and hold targeted public outreach and hearings. The county will review model regulations used by other Colorado counties as part of drafting local rules.