Commission approves Pacific Corp's Claussen 1 solar and battery project after public hearing, Jensen opposes

Pacific Corp's proposed Claussen 1 photovoltaic power generation and battery energy storage project won county approval on Sept. 16 after an extended public hearing that drew dozens of residents.

Spencer Martin of Martin and Nicholson Environmental Consulting, a contractor for Pacific Corp, told the commission the project would have a 128 megawatt capacity on roughly 1,800 acres of Pacific Corp land and would place about 1,170 acres of solar arrays, inverters, roads and a collector substation on the site. "It's a 128 megawatt capacity," Martin said. He described a roughly three-mile transmission line that would run parallel to Highway 10 to the Emery Substation and two alternate routing options, one of which crosses a small corner of BLM land.

Residents and nearby landowners raised repeated concerns during the hearing about water infrastructure, cattle access during seasonal trailings, stormwater and dust controls, wildlife movement, and the safety and placement of a battery storage yard. Derry Jukes of the Rock Canyon Cattle Company warned that some fields used for staging cattle "are literally surrounding us on three sides," and pressed for assurances about setbacks, berms and containment to prevent runoff into hay fields. County staff and applicants said setbacks would meet or exceed county minimums and that a stormwater pollution-prevention plan and construction dust controls would be implemented.

Commissioners also discussed fiscal impacts: Pacific/rocky power representatives and county staff said the installation would be centrally assessed by the State Tax Commission, complicating local allocation of property-tax receipts. Company representatives estimated capital costs in hundreds of millions and said, in rough math prepared by their tax advisor, potential property-tax yield could be on the order of hundreds of thousands of dollars per year (applicants described the estimate as preliminary).

Battery safety was a recurring concern. An adjacent landowner asked what protections would be in place "if something goes wrong" with the battery yard; applicants said battery areas would be rock-covered, surrounded by at least an 8-foot security fence, and that fire-response procedures would be coordinated with local fire districts. Rocky Mountain Power staff present said having the project owned and maintained by the utility would allow standardized security and maintenance procedures.

After discussing conditions staff would draft to address setbacks, drainage, cultural resources and access during construction, a motion was made to grant the Level 3 conditional-use permit. Commissioners Horwood (Warwood on the roll) and Leonard voted aye; Commissioner Jensen recorded a nay. The chair announced the motion passed. The permit authorizes the project to move into the detailed permitting and building-permit phase, subject to any conditions the planning office drafts and the County's subsequent building-permit reviews.

The commission directed staff and the developer to provide additional information on: maps of underground irrigation/stock-water lines and easements, a stormwater and erosion-control plan for construction and long-term operations, battery-fire response coordination with the Fairview/Castle Dale area fire districts, and documentation from the cultural-resources survey on the canal identified as potentially eligible for the National Register. The county will also work with the developer to minimize construction impacts during cattle movement seasons and to evaluate potential thermal or other effects on livestock raised adjacent to arrays.

The county's approval ends the public-hearing phase at the commission level but does not replace subsequent permitting, interconnection, or state-level assessments. Public comments and technical responses will be considered as permit conditions are finalized.