Solar power may be coming to Bend in a big way

Solar is coming to Bend, in a big way. Two 100-acre solar farms are being proposed for Bend’s Eastside. For those living in the area, it could change their neighborhood dramatically.

“I really enjoy the openness,” Kathy Jensan ,who lives adjacent to the proposed site, said Tuesday. “I really enjoy the wildlife, the deer, the coyotes and the rabbits.”

But some of that nature soon could be replaced by a sea of solar panels. One of the solar farms stretches south from Neff Road to Highway 20 near Erickson Road. The two solar facilities would be among Central Oregon’s biggest.

“That 20-megawatt farm total should be able should be able to feed (enough power for) 4,000 homes,” said Paul Israel, president of the Oregon Solar Energy Industries Association.

Not everyone is happy about the proposal. The Jensans could soon be looking at an 8-foot tall barbed wire fence.

“I cried” upon learning of the plans, she said. “I will cry now, if you talk about it.”

Deschutes County must approve the projects first. Their main concern is whether it follows land-use regulations. If the proposals meet their standards, they give the green light.

“It is a use that is permitted in the zone, within the Exclusive Farm Use zone, and subject to a conditional use permit,” said Chris Schmoyer, an associate planner at the Deschutes County Community Development Department.

Since the county already has heard from concerned citizens, it will schedule a public hearing some time in May or June.

As growth continues and power demands grow, where can — or should — Central Oregonians get their energy from?

“We want to get as much as we can from renewable energy sources, because if we don’t, then we’re going to be generally be looking at fossil fuels, either coal or natural gas,” said Mike Riley, executive director at the Environmental Center in Bend.

Riley said he was not familiar enough with the specific project to comment on it, but spoke instead of renewable energy in general.

“We’re energy-constrained,” Israel said. “We have to start phasing out coal-fired plants. Not only do we need more capacity, but we’re retiring old capacity. So it’s time that we bring on new technologies of the future.”

Bottom line: Even solar energy comes with a price.

“The challenge it presents is that there are trade-offs,” Riley said. “None of them are perfect. None of them come without some kind of cost. In this case, it might be changing how a particular neighborhood feels.”

If you want to comment now about the solar farms to Deschutes County, you can do so until April 24.

The location of the solar farms coincides with where the urban growth boundary could expand to.