Green vs. green: Bend ‘solar farm’ fight continues

It’s a tale that the evergreen-filled and ever-growing city of Bend knows all too well. A developer wants to build, and neighbors don’t like it.

“People care about where they live. They care about the view that they have. That’s why they move out here,” Cypess Creek Energy representative Jason Carr said Tuesday.

Bendites will fight for it, too. This time, “clean energy” developers want to build a pair of solar panel farms just east of Bend. Two developments are planned bordering Erickson and Neff roads and Highway 20. Cypress Creek Renewables has its hands in both projects.

“So as far as you could see will be glass and metal racking,” said Cathy Jensen, a neighbor whose property directly borders the development.

The sage and juniper there now would have to go. Developers say this project is bigger than that, and that the solar panels would directly impact the community in a positive way.

“PacifiCorp is one of the largest energy sources in the region, and it still gets a majority of its power from coal,” Carr said.

Cypress says this way, almost 5,000 homes can benefit from green energy instead. Neighbors say they support that idea, but…

“We’re all for solar energy. It’s a really good thing. We’d like to see more of it in roofs,” Jensen said.

It’s the proximity to houses, destruction of wildlife habitat and trees that concerns neighbors like the Jensens. So a Deschutes County hearings officer’s approval won’t stand as the final say by the county, pending a potential appeal onward at the state level.

“At the end of the day, we’ve gone through the process, and we’re allowed to be there,” Carr said. “Secondarily, it’s in a location with a power infrastructure.”

The Jensens appealed the approval. Deschutes County commissioners will now review the appeals. An Oct. 19 hearing is planned, and a final county decision is expected by early November.