We recently reported upon a suit filed by the Colorado River Indian Tribes against the Bureau of Land Management over a utility scale solar project near Blythe. Reporter Dan Stork says a Blythe city official has a differing viewpoint…
Frank Luckino, the City Manager of Blythe (a former Yucca Valley councilman and mayor, and former Hi-Desert Water District CFO), took note of our story about a suit filed against the BLM by Indian tribes in the Colorado River region, protesting a 4,000-acre solar field project near his city, to be developed by Next Era Energy. Luckino wrote: “NextEra has been a good developer/neighbor to the City of Blythe. These projects have created a lot of construction jobs and a big boost to the local economy because the construction workers are staying in the hotels and eating in the restaurants. This project is starting now. It is anticipated, at the peak of the project, we will have about 400 construction workers at this site.” Luckino added that Riverside County, and Blythe, benefit from a $140 per acre per year “sun tax” on solar power projects.
BLYTHE CITY MANAGER SAYS SOLAR POWER BRINGS BENEFITS
