Mojave County regulators are on the side of voters calling for opposition to three solar plants planned on public land in northwest Arizona. At a board meeting in Kingman on Monday, a resolution was unanimously passed to formally oppose a proposed project on land managed by the Bureau of Land Management.
The Leo Solar project is proposed on more than 5,500 acres of land in the southern Mojave Valley. North of Kingman, he has two other proposed solar power plants. One is located in Mineral Park, which totals about 4,000 acres, and the other is on a slightly larger lot in the White Hills area.
“I strongly oppose these solar projects on mixed-use public land. I think they should be on private land anyway. can.”
Members of the ranching community agreed that solar energy projects are not suitable for BLM managed areas.
“BLM land should be multi-use land,” says Emmett Sturgill, who runs a ranch on public land north of Kingman with his wife, Lori. “Even if you put solar panels on top of it, you can’t use it multiple times. It’s single use. They’re putting ranchers out of business.”
Tex Carter told regulators that once the Mineral Park project is approved, public land ranching on the Pine Springs allotment will end.
“We want to keep it. We don’t want to lose it. We don’t want to see someone buy us out,” Carter said. “It is for our children and grandchildren and it is something we really enjoy. We are passionate about it. They will love it, because we are in charge of it.”
Sturgill noted that while many solar projects receive tax exemptions, ranchers contribute to the local economy.
“I put hundreds of thousands of dollars back into the Mojave County economy every year, and so do other ranchers who run the ranches where these projects are proposed,” Sturgill said. . “There are many private properties in Mojave County that are very suitable for solar projects. I know.”
Some opponents are based on concerns about water usage and ecological damage associated with the millions of solar panels proposed for the three projects.
Outdoor enthusiast and conservationist Don Martin offered wisdom expressed decades ago by former President Teddy Roosevelt.
Quoting President Roosevelt, Martin said, “Wildlife and habitat have no voice.” “So it is up to us to speak for them, and I will speak for them on God’s behalf and oppose this in any way I can.”
“These large-scale solar projects are draining our water resources and robbing our land of vegetation,” agrees supervisor Gene Bishop.
Board chairman Travis Lingenfelter sided with ranchers who criticized the Biden administration for trying to encourage the use of BLM assets for solar power.
“The federal government needs to stop building bulldozers in the desert,” Lingenfelter said. “And I’m sorry, but you’re not going to convince me that it does nothing to lower the temperature of the earth.”
The resolution, approved by the county regulator, does not bar developers from seeking the necessary approvals to move forward with renewable energy initiatives at the three locations.
