The Montezuma County Planning and Zoning Commission will hold a public hearing May 15 to review a proposed 140-megawatt solar photovoltaic energy facility submitted by Canyonland Solar.
The hearing is 6 p.m. in the Commissioner’s Hearing Room, 109 W. Main St. It will address the project's high-impact and special-use permit application for the site, south of Road S and west of Road 18.
The Canyonland Solar Energy Facility, which would be near Canyon of the Ancients National Monument and Goodman Point, will be on 960 acres of privately owned land, including property owned by Dennis Hutchinson, Tissaw Family Trust, Goodman Point Farms, John and Jessica Chappell, and John and Robyn Foster.
The proposal states that the project aims to generate enough renewable energy to power 30,000 homes in the area and is expected to generate $8.4 million in tax revenue over its life span. Discussions about the project began in 2020.
According to a document provided by County Clerk Kim Percell, the project was initially proposed as 3,700 acres, but JUWI reduced it to 960 acres after hearing concerns about wildlife, vegetation, infrastructure and more.
JUWI Inc.’s David Kimmett submitted the project’s application to the commissioners on March 4. The county’s six-month moratorium on solar projects, placed April 9, does not include the Canyonland Solar Project.
Construction would begin in the third quarter of 2026, be completed around late 2026 and have a 35-year life span.
A website about the project is at www.canyonlandsolar.com.
Opponents’ Say No to Canyonland Solar website is at www.saynotocanyonlandsolarfacility.org/.
