Developers outline 199‑MW solar and 100‑MW battery plan in Elbert County open house; neighbors press water, farmland and fire-safety concerns

Annika Egan, community engagement manager with BayWa, opened a technical open house near Kiowa on behalf of the project team and asked attendees to hold questions for a Q&A period.

Annalise Ross Dijak, the project developer, told attendees the proposal is for a 199‑megawatt solar facility paired with a 100‑megawatt battery system located off County Road 149, about eight miles south of Matheson. She said the team is emphasizing construction details at this stage and that the project boundary and preliminary panel area were shown in the presentation.

Cody, the developer’s director of construction, gave a high‑level schedule: roughly 10–12 months of engineering design, an expected 3–4 months of county permitting, followed by about 18–24 months of overlapping construction phases. He described standard erosion‑control measures (wetting soils, drill seeding, hay and coconut fiber mats, straw wattles, silt fencing and, if necessary, hydroseeding), topsoil stockpiling practices, road construction standards, and on‑site basins designed to capture runoff near the substation.

On emergency response, the team confirmed a water cistern remains part of the plan. Annalise said the cistern was requested in collaboration with Big Sandy Fire and will be made available for local fire response; the developer said it intends to source cistern water from local commercial suppliers (the team has discussed purchases with Simla Water but has not finalized agreements). Staff emphasized they will not drill new on‑site wells for the project and that operational water demand is expected to be minimal except for occasional panel cleaning or vegetation reestablishment after construction.

Developers said they have consulted Colorado Parks and Wildlife, performed habitat studies and incorporated recommended fencing and buffer measures to preserve wildlife movement. Rather than perimeter exclusion fencing, they plan to fence panel arrays and leave larger swaths of contiguous land to allow mule deer, pronghorn and other species to move through the site. The team also provided conservative visual simulations, offered to conduct on‑site walkarounds for adjacent landowners, and said they will voluntarily add setbacks so panels do not come up to property lines in many locations.

Several residents pressed the team on farmland loss and property values. One attendee described the site as “hands down the best farm ground in the country” and said loss of productive cropland and declining local livestock numbers made the siting objectionable. Developers replied that the location was chosen to use an existing transmission corridor to limit new overhead infrastructure, to use county road access already serving infrastructure, and because they have a power purchase arrangement with Tri‑State; they also highlighted potential community benefits including road improvements, tax revenue and gifts or equipment for Big Sandy Fire.

Attendees asked about battery fire risk and catastrophic panel damage from hail or tornadoes. Cody said modern equipment and design features (arrestors, secure mountings, rock “beauty rings” around inverters and substation rock surrounds) reduce sparking and contain most equipment failures; remote operations monitoring and insurance would support response to major events. A presenter noted that the panels use tempered glass and cited a study from a different site impacted by a tornado that found no contamination concerns after cleanup; staff offered to share that report on request.

The developer said the project will interconnect to an existing 230‑kV transmission line crossing the property and that a contract with Tri‑State is in place; they emphasized that once generation is sold into Tri‑State’s system the developer cannot control which co‑ops or customers ultimately receive that power. On the project’s end of life, staff said a decommissioning bond will be required to ensure removal of panels if the operator does not remove them, and that the project team is preparing permit and contract language to secure long‑term obligations.

The session closed with developers offering to meet individually with neighbors for further walkarounds and to share additional materials; the team also highlighted a workforce partnership (Project Vanguard) prioritizing veteran hiring. No formal decisions or county actions were taken at the meeting; the presentation and Q&A were information and outreach steps during early permitting and design.