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Commission recommends approval of 450-MW Lark Point solar project
Summary
The Navajo County Planning and Zoning Commission unanimously recommended approval of a special use permit for a 450-megawatt solar farm and matching 450-megawatt battery storage system on about 7,119 acres near Joseph City; staff recommended approval subject to 16 conditions and commissioners reserved final action for the Board of Supervisors.
The Navajo County Planning and Zoning Commission on Tuesday recommended that the Board of Supervisors approve a special use permit for a 450-megawatt solar generation facility with a 450-megawatt battery energy storage system on roughly 7,119 acres southwest of Joseph City.
Staff told the commission the project, submitted by Lark Point Solar LLC and Aztec East Jeffers LLC, would be sited on parcels totaling just over 7,000 acres in township/range sections identified in the staff report and is in the General zoning district. Staff recommended approval subject to 16 standard conditions and noted array layouts are conceptual and may shift during final design.
Julie Dickey, the agent for the applicant, said the applicant was grateful for staff assistance and deferred detailed questions to the developer. Alyssa Menzel of Long Road Energy, the project developer, described the battery energy storage system as multiple containerized units—"they are in containers, basically look like shipping containers"—with racking for battery cells, internal safety sensors and cameras, and segregated container spacing of roughly 8 to 10 feet. Menzel said the units would sit above ground, that medium-voltage collection lines would run underground, and that the company is coordinating with the Joseph City Fire District on a service agreement and first-responder training and staging.
In response to commissioner questions, Menzel said each containerized unit includes its own fire-suppression capabilities and that the design isolates events to a single container where possible. She also said a first-responder control station would allow emergency personnel to view alarms and cameras at a safe distance and that on-site water-tank sizing would be agreed with the fire district prior to construction.
A commissioner moved that the Planning and Zoning Commission recommend approval of SUP24-005 to the Board of Supervisors subject to staff conditions; the motion was seconded and carried unanimously.
The commission’s recommendation is advisory. The Board of Supervisors will have final authority when the item is scheduled for its agenda.
