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Commission approves El Paso Electric solar expansion special permit
Summary
The commission approved a special permit and site plan to expand an existing solar facility at 5000 Stan Roberts Avenue. Staff said Parcel 1 would host 15,834 panels and Parcel 2 would host 29,562 panels; El Paso Electric will lease the land from El Paso Water.
The El Paso Planning Commission approved a detailed site development plan and a special permit to expand a solar major utility facility on two adjacent parcels at 5000 Stan Roberts Avenue.
Blanca Perez of Planning and Inspections said the eastern parcel is approximately 48 acres and the western parcel about 80 acres. Staff reported Parcel 1 would contain 15,834 solar panels with direct access from Stan Roberts Avenue and Parcel 2 would contain 29,562 panels with direct access from Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard. The request covers expansion onto adjacent parcels; no changes to the existing facility were proposed.
Applicant representative George Hallou of SLA Engineering said El Paso Electric will lease the land from El Paso Water to expand generation capacity on the city’s northeast side and confirmed the applicant agrees with staff recommendations. In response to a commissioner’s quick calculation, one commissioner estimated the project could amount to roughly 142 megawatts, but staff did not present an engineering confirmation of capacity in the hearing.
Staff reported public notices were mailed within 300 feet and that as of the date in the staff report the planning division had received two inquiry calls and no formal letters of support or opposition. The commission approved the permit; the transcript records the motion carried but does not include a roll-call tally.
