Commission tables San Luis solar discussion

The Yuma County Planning and Zoning Commission postponed making a recommendation Monday on a permit for a proposed solar plant in San Luis.

The commission will now consider the item on Oct. 22.

The postponement is the latest delay for Solar Electric Solutions, the California company that is seeking the green light for the plant in eastern San Luis.

Solar Electric Solutions wants to install solar panels on 175 acres of state property near Juan Sanchez Boulevard and Avenue F – near the Baja Substation owned by Arizona Public Service, to which Solar Electric Solutions proposes to sell the electricity generated by the panels. The site is a county island, or patch of unincorporated land surrounded by city limits, but Yuma County won't approve the project without a letter from the San Luis City Council endorsing the project.

The city council agreed, on a 4-2 vote, last week to pen the letter. It was the second time in a month that the council backed the project – the do-over was required after the council's August endorsement imposed several conditions that it could not legally impose because the site does not fall within the city's jurisdiction.

And the August OK was after two failed attempts at securing the previous council's backing over the prior year.

The Yuma County Board of Supervisors would ultimately decide whether or not to grant the permit.