“As everyone knows, this area was taken out of desert 100 years ago and it’s currently irrigated with pivots. Once the solar panels are installed it will be impossible to run the pivots and the land is not suited to flood irrigation or irrigating with furrows. Without irrigation the ground will likely revert back to desert.”
Those were the words of an Ada County resident against a proposed solar farm. But for some, her words represented a positive opportunity—an opportunity to embrace a landscape for what it is, and use the strengths of this area to bring benefits to our environment and community alike.
A newly proposed solar project near Kuna, Idaho, represents an opportunity to do just that. The Powers Butte Energy Center, a proposed project straddling the border of Ada and Canyon counties, poses a remarkable opportunity for our community to embrace renewable energy and enhance local economic benefits.
Spearheaded by Savion (a utility-scale solar and energy storage project developer), the project spans 2,385 acres and involves installing a 205-megawatt solar farm paired with battery storage. This initiative will generate enough electricity to power over 42,000 homes, significantly meeting local energy needs and reducing our reliance on dirty fossil fuel energy sources.
In Ada County, the project is expected to generate an additional $750,000 in annual tax revenue and create jobs during the construction period, providing a significant boost to the local economy.
The area chosen for the project is currently owned by Savion and two other families who have said in the public hearing that it’s “marginal farmland at best.” They aren’t wrong. Look for yourself with this mapping tool I used when teaching soil and forestry classes to examine the site’s productivity. The natural vegetation would be big sagebrush, but both soil types have root restrictive layers that constrain plant growth (or there’s no soil and just rock outcrops). As someone with a PhD in soils, I can honestly say this is not the best dirt for farming.
Powers Butte Energy Center is expected to operate for approximately 30 years, once the project has reached the end of its lifespan. Solar farm construction techniques generally require driving steel rods into the ground that can be fully removed. As a soil scientist by training, I can confidently say the ground can easily be returned to another land use following the conclusion of the land lease. This offers an opportunity to keep the land in the ownership of local families while strengthening our energy independence goals. By building solar on marginal farmland that has high solar generation potential, both the local landowners and the community around them can benefit.
Savion is also partnering with the University of Idaho to explore “agrivoltaics” for the project. This includes the potential of growing pollinator plants (agri-) between the solar panels (-voltaics) and using sheep to graze the plants so the land will remain weed-free and multi-functional.
Overall, this project could be an exciting opportunity for Ada County, but the road to get there is long. Since this project spans across both Ada and Canyon County, it will need to undergo multiple processes before Savion can begin construction. This summer, hopefully at the next County Commissioners hearing on July 10th, the Ada County Commissioners will vote to approve the conditional use permit for this project.
Once it has been approved on the Ada County side, the Canyon County Planning and Zoning commission will get to vote. Since the battery storage and transmission lines are in Canyon County, it has to be approved on their side for this project to be feasible.
Concerns from nearby residents about viewshed and battery issues have been thoroughly addressed and debunked (see here, here, here, here). Notably, the families currently owning the project land support the initiative, as it offers economic incentives and a chance to keep their land within the family.
Similar to another solar farm that Savion is in the process of building near the Boise airport, those landowners said “It’s a good way to preserve the ground for future generations and still bring in some income, ground that really doesn’t bring in anything.”
Recognizing the crucial role that renewable energy plays in mitigating climate change, and because this proposal would be a better use of this particular landscape, this project has garnered support from the Idaho Conservation League. Idahoans are feeling the impacts of climate change. We need to take steps toward a more climate-resilient future now. With summers getting hotter and wildfires becoming more extreme, supporting renewable energy projects like the Powers Butte Energy Center is essential. We have the opportunity to make Ada and Canyon counties leaders in sustainability.
To make this project a reality, we need your support. County Commissioners need to hear from the public. Take action for clean energy today by voicing your support for this solar project!
