Weld Planning Commission to review planned 4,300-acre solar farm in remote part of county

WELD COUNTY — The Weld County Planning Commission on Tuesday will consider a 4,300-acre solar farm by feedlot operator Magnum Feedyard Co. LLC that would provide enough electricity to power 187,000 homes a year.

The project, which would be Weld’s largest solar project to date, is in southeast Weld County straddling the Morgan County line. The project has another 4,100 acres on the Morgan County side, which the Morgan County Board of Commissioners approved earlier this year.

Weld County planners have suggested the planning commission approve the project, which will be discussed after a public hearing on Tuesday afternoon in the Weld County Commissioners’ hearing room, 1150 O St., Greeley. If approved, it will go before the Board of Weld County Commissioners for approval.

Magnum Feedyard owner Steve Gabel, who grows feed and feeds 35,000 head of cattle, said in an earlier interview that the land he has purchased for the solar project is not prime farm ground, and its “highest and best use” is in the solar project he has requested to build. In addition to the solar panels, he would build a 650-megawatt battery storage substation to connect to a high-voltage transmission line providing electricity to Xcel Energy and United Power Inc.

The land is classified as prime ground if it were irrigated, the presentation states, but there is not enough water produced by existing wells on the property to irrigate the land adequately.

The project would be developed by Utah-based Balanced Rock Power LLC, which develops projects throughout the Rocky Mountain West including Arizona, California, Colorado, Idaho, Nevada, Oregon, Texas, Utah, South Dakota, and Wyoming.

According to a presentation filed by Balanced Rock, the project would create a $128 million economic impact, including $57 million in property taxes to Weld County. Those would include $32.5 million to Wiggins 50-J School District; $8.5 million to Southeast Weld County Fire Protection District, $12.4 million to Weld County, and $2.6 million to the High Plains Library District.

According to the Balanced Rock presentation documents, Colorado is expected to join a wholesale energy market by 2030, “which will increase the number of potential customers for the project.”

If approved, construction would begin in 2026 and be operational by the fourth quarter of 2028.

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