Planning commission forwards Pacificorp 178‑MW solar and battery CUP to county commissioners

The Emery County Planning Commission unanimously recommended that county commissioners consider a conditional‑use permit for Pacificorp’s proposed 178‑megawatt solar photovoltaic project with a battery energy storage system.

Pacificorp representatives described the project footprint and schedule. "The footprint of that site plan is about 1,170 acres ... and the generation transmission line ... is about 2.9 miles long," said Spencer Martin, the project consultant, describing internal roads, inverters, a collector substation and a 3,100–3,800 square‑foot operations building. Company staff identified two tie‑line routing options: a preferred route that requires an easement across Hunter Prep Plant property and an alternate that would briefly cross Bureau of Land Management‑administered land under an amended right‑of‑way.

Planning commissioners discussed whether the county’s review level should change for large energy projects. Staff warned commissioners that the county commission is considering a change that would elevate large solar projects to a level 3 conditional‑use process, which would alter public‑review and appeal pathways. Commissioners said they would recommend approval under the current level‑2 standard and forward the application to the County Commission; if the commissioners later reclassify the process to level 3, the applicant would re‑engage at that level.

Tyler Jeffs moved to recommend approval under the current level‑2 conditional‑use process; Bart Cox seconded and the commission voted unanimously to forward the recommendation to the county commissioners. The commission asked staff to coordinate next steps and confirmed application fees would be processed through the building‑permit office.