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Adams County may be home to the state’s largest solar farm
Community Editor
Adams County may be home to the state’s largest solar farm
Adams County may soon be home to the largest solar farm in Colorado.
Lightsource BP is seeking approval to build a 322-megawatt solar power and battery storage project at 6301 Manilla Road in Watkins, less than two miles north of the Colorado Air and Space Port and about nine miles east of Denver International Airport.
As planned, the project would produce enough electricity to power 99,000 homes, according to the company.
Lightsource BP is based in San Francisco and is owned by oil giant BP plc. in London, according to the Denver Business Journal.
There is no timeline for construction and completion at the moment, as the county is awaiting a hearing, said Adams County spokeswoman Amber Ferguson.
The project would cover 1,800 acres and have a 2,800-acre footprint, according to the Business Journal.
The company outlined the importance of the planned solar farm in its conditional use permit application, the Business Journal states.
“The Project will help meet the growing need for electricity in the Denver area as data centers and other power-intensive ventures drive growth,” according to the company’s conditional use permit application. “It will be well-designed and considerate of the environment and surrounding land uses while realizing the benefits it will bring as a reliable source of economic development and sustainable energy for the next 40+years.”
Lightsource BP declined to comment.
Lightsource BP says the total private capital investment for the project will reach $675 million. The project is expected to cost between $400 million and $500 million to build, the Business Journal states. Construction is expected to start in 2027 and finish as early as 2029, the Journal states. During peak construction, Lightsource BP expects between 300 and 400 people could be working on the project, with many of them living in the Denver metro area, according to the company’s website.
The project is expected to generate $39 million in property tax payments over its 40-year lifespan, the company states. Lightsource BP estimates the project’s sales and use taxes are expected to reach $9.7 million, with $7.5 million going to the state of Colorado and $1.9 million for Adams County, the Journal states.
The solar farm’s battery storage facility could improve grid reliability by storing electricity when demand is low and power generation is high, and discharging it during periods of high demand, the Journal states. I would have the capacity of 322 megawatts with a four-hour duration, translating to 1,200 megawatt-hours of energy supply, the Journal states.
The battery storage facility will take up 23 acres next to the project’s substation. The Business Journal states the company is also proposing to develop, own and operate an electrical substation on the property as well.
The company’s plans have gone through two review cycles with Adams County staff and the latest review comments were provided to the applicant on June 17.
Next steps are that once all of the staff and referral agency review comments have been addressed, the case can be scheduled for the public hearings before the Planning Commission for a recommendation and the Board of County Commissioners for a decision, Ferguson said via email.
Notice for those public hearings will include publishing in the newspaper, mailed notice to nearby property owners and occupants, and posting the notice on the property, she said.
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