MANTON, Calif. – A 25-acre solar project in Manton is moving forward despite strong opposition from neighbors who say it doesn’t belong in their community.
The Shasta County Board of Supervisors recently voted 4 to 1 to approve the project, which will feature 15-foot-tall solar panels along Battle Creek Bottom Road.
Action News Now visited the site where the panels are set to be built. Neighbors living close to the proposed location are pushing back against the development.
“Go put it on top of a parking garage or something like that, not in somebody’s backyard, not in a rural area,” said Frank Paltza, a Manton resident.
Paltza said the panels will be visible from his property. “35 feet from my fence to their 7-foot-tall chain link fence and it’s going to be 15 feet of panels visible from every window of the back of my house,” Paltza said.
Locals who spoke with Action News Now worry the panels will negatively impact wildlife living in the area, pose a wildfire risk and are simply not a pretty sight to see. Marily Woodhouse, director of the local opposition group called Battle Creek Alliance, said she is worried about long-term impacts.
“I’ve been here for almost 40 years and I’ve seen it change a lot from all the different impacts that have already happened to it and I just love the land and I just want it to be healthy and I want it to be healthy for the future. I’m not going to be here probably a lot longer, I’m kind of old, but I want it to be here for everybody who lives here and that includes non-humans as well,” Woodhouse said.
Board Chair Chris Kelstrom was the only supervisor who voted no. He said while he supports the project, he understands the concerns of the locals.
“Bottom line is the people of Manton just want it to stay like Manton and they just assume not have solar panels out there. It’s understandable, I mean I don’t know if I’d want a giant solar farm next to me necessarily, but I don’t think it’s going to be nearly as bad as some of their concerns are,” Kelstrom said.
Renewable Properties is the company behind the Battle Creek Bottom Solar Project.
Permitting Associate Anne Maytubby gave Action News Now a statement that read: “It’s a low-impact use—compatible across multiple land uses, doesn’t generate traffic (once completed), and doesn’t impact groundwater—and it helps improve local grid reliability at a time when the region needs it most following recent hydro dam closures.”
Construction is now expected to start by the end of the year at the earliest.
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