Solar farm plan raises more worries

But supporters say the project would comply with a state mandate to become energy efficient

By Nick Wilson

A divided group of about 50 people weighed in Saturday in Santa Margarita on a proposed solar plant that would cover 640 acres near the Carrizo Plain National Monument.

The Palo Alto-based company Ausra Inc. is going after a state permit to build a 177- megawatt solar farm.

Some residents said they’re against the project for its drain on the area’s water resources and because they don’t want to see agricultural land lost.

But others supported the proposal, including one resident who cited a state mandate requiring utilities to have 20 percent of electricity come from renewable resources by 2010.

The project is at least a year away from approval.

The California Energy Commission is gathering data from Ausra. The commission’s staff will then analyze and prepare an assessment of the project.

The last major step in the process would be an evidentiary hearing and commission decision regarding approval.

Additional public workshops and meetings are expected, with public notice 10 days in advance required.

Objections voiced by some have included the project’s potential noise impacts, traffic congestion and effects on biological resources.

A county ordinance allows the energy-related use of the property, which is zoned for agriculture.

“I don’t like the idea of taking a lot of agriculture land off the market,” said Pati Nolen, a California Valley resident.

But representatives from the Santa Barbara-based nonprofit Community Environmental Council said they’re supporting the project because it’s environmentally friendly and saves money.

“If we can transition to renewable energy by the year 2033, it would save billions of dollars,” said Megan Birney, an energy program senior associate with the organization.

The solar farm would create 75 long-term jobs and 365 jobs during construction, according to the developer.

At the meeting, Eric Christen of the Coalition for Fair Employment Construction lobbied against a practice that he says is common for construction union groups and their lawyers: holding up the permitting process by filing detailed environmental data requests.

Christen said it is a “tactic of extortion” used against developers to negotiate a contract with union workers.

No one at the meeting immediately challenged Christen’s assertions.

Ausra hopes to begin construction in 2009 and start its operation by late 2010.