The Cortez Chamber of Commerce was abuzz with community members from the start of Accelergen Energy’s Valley Range Energy Park open house on Thursday evening.
Representatives from Accelergen Energy stood in various locations around the room and engaged with community members who were curious, and sometimes frustrated, with the organization’s proposed solar project in Montezuma County.
The Valley Range Energy Park project was described as a 125-megawatt “solar energy generation facility” and 62.5 MWac battery energy storage system that is being “developed and planned” in the county. The project, if approved, would help provide energy to the Tri-State Generation and Transmission.
As more members of the community packed into the building to hear about the solar, various questions could be heard. Some worried about the visual effects of the solar, while others said they didn’t want to hear the hum from their homes.
One woman showed Accelergen’s Josh Skogen, SVP development, photos of the night sky she had taken on her phone, saying she didn’t want the lights from the solar to impede views of the night sky.
Skogen said that there were ways the lighting could be adjusted to limit light pollution, noting that the current plan is to utilize motion sensor lights.
“As far as lighting is concerned, the only lights that are needed is on the substation, which will be motion sensored,” Skogen said.
One group of people, who only identified themselves as “pissed residents,” expressed their distaste for the project proposed by Accelergen and the Canyonland Project that is being proposed by Juwi Inc.
A man who identified himself as Billy, a woman named Lisa and another, Alan Mays, shared their concerns about the potential fire and wildfire hazards the solar could pose. Billy and Lisa also shared that they owned an Airbnb that would have its notable views spoiled by the solar, as the project would bump up against their fence line.
“We’re tired of this nonsense,” Billy told The Journal.
Another man expressed concern over how the project would proceed if it were to come upon Native American ruins during construction.
Skogen explained that a “desktop” survey had been completed, with more detailed surveys to follow.
Others said that they thought solar was needed in the community, adding that there could be better locations than what had been proposed.
“We need clean solar energy,” Kelly McAndrews told The Journal. “We just need a happy medium of where to site it.”
Accelergen Energy is headquartered in Austin, Texas. Accelergen’s project developer Lauren Kaapcke told The Journal that the organization had analyzed areas that could be good for solar, and Montezuma County happened to be an area that had “high potential and opportunity.”
The proposed project is in Phase 1, permitting and compliance. The group expressed their desire to get community input and feedback before moving forward with trying to get the project approved by the Board of County Commissioners.
“We want to do this responsibly,” Skogen told attendees, adding that he hoped their efforts in hosting an open house showed that.
The project would be on private property near the Montezuma County Fairgrounds. The project would span about 1,200 acres and would begin construction in 2027 with “operations scheduled to commence” in December 2028.
Other than speaking of the project’s “clean, low-cost and domestic energy,” representatives for the project also shared community initiatives and benefits such as generating a minimum of $15.5 million in tax revenue over the course of the project, the creation of nearly 300 “direct job opportunities” and a community giving program that would include a $5,000 donation to a “local, community-based organization supporting key initiatives such as environmental restoration, agricultural preservation, energy relied and human services.”
The group also noted they would provide a scholarship program for local students, putting a special emphasis on students wishing to pursue careers in STEM, and partnering with local school districts to help students garner experience in “renewable energy technologies.”
The Journal attempted to contact Skogen for further comments and more information on the project following the event, but has not received a reply.
More information about the project can be found online at www.valleyrangeep.com or by contacting the group at info@valleyrangeep.com.
