A large group of people gather to listen during a public hearing about the proposed Rancho Viejo Solar project before the Santa Fe County Planning Commission at the Santa Fe Community Convention Center in February.
A large group of people gather to listen during a public hearing about the proposed Rancho Viejo Solar project before the Santa Fe County Planning Commission at the Santa Fe Community Convention Center in February.
A group aiming to defeat a proposal to build a sprawling solar and battery energy storage development south of Santa Fe filed an official appeal with county government Friday, meaning the fate of the Rancho Viejo Solar project will be decided sometime this summer.
In a statement, the Clean Energy Coalition of Santa Fe County — a group with more than 1,000 members who oppose the project — said it has filed its appeal after the county Planning Commission signed off on the project Feb. 4. This kicks the decision to the five elected county commissioners.
Virginia-based AES Corp. is seeking a permit to build a facility on 680 acres of a roughly 800-acre parcel near Eldorado and Rancho San Marcos. The site is about three miles south of Santa Fe. Once completed, Rancho Viejo Solar could generate 96 megawatts of power and roughly 45 megawatts of battery storage — enough electricity to carry the city's residential load, AES officials have said.
The project has drawn considerable scrutiny as concerns about fires from lithium battery storage linger, particularly from residents of the Eldorado area who maintain the facility would pose risks of runaway fires and affect their property values.
But proponents have said it could play a major role in the state’s efforts to curb climate change and argue the project is a safe one. Supporters and representatives of energy giant AES Corp. also argue new technology dramatically reduces risks posed by such facilities.
New Mexico's Energy Transition Act, passed in 2019, lays out an ambitious timeline of renewable energy goals for the state's power grid, requiring electric utilities to generate 50% of their power from renewable sources by 2030 and 80% by 2040. Investor-owned utilities must reach 100% renewable sources by 2045 and rural electric cooperatives by 2050.
County spokesperson Olivia Romo said the county is aiming to schedule a County Commission hearing on the high-profile proposal later this summer, perhaps in late June or early July, but no exact location, date or time for the hearing has been set yet. Whenever land use hearings have been held on the matter, project opponents have turned out in high numbers to log their concern.
In a statement following the Planning Commission meeting in February, Joshua Mayer, senior development manager for AES, said the company is excited to move the project forward.
“We are grateful for the Santa Fe County Planning Commission’s thorough and thoughtful approach to incorporating the feedback of many community members as they voted for the Rancho Viejo Solar project to move forward,” Mayer said.
“The project will provide enough clean energy to PNM customers to power 37,000 Santa Fe homes annually, helping Santa Fe County lead the way as New Mexico works toward its goal of 50% renewable by 2030, and 100% renewable by 2045,” he added at the time.
According to the statement from the Clean Energy Coalition of Santa Fe County, which was sent out to members of the group by email, the organization has raised $24,500 in an attempt to defeat the solar project.
