San Miguel County officials have signed a letter of support for a 30-megawatt solar plant in southwest Colorado.
Ute Peak Solar and Standard Solar want to see the plant built at a substation in western Montrose County. The Telluride Daily Planet reports the substation sends three main lines across Colorado and the West.
Utility Tri-State Generation and Transmission says it is reviewing a number of energy projects within and can't comment on any specific project.
“This is big grid solar,” Ute Peak Solar’s co-owner, Tom Tatum, told the Planet. “This would eliminate a huge amount of coal pollutants.”
County Commissioner Hilary Cooper says the solar plant is big enough to replace a nearby coal-fired power plant slated for shutdown by the end of 2022.
The Solar Energy Industries Association says 1 megawatt of solar energy in Colorado can power over 150 average-sized homes.
