Twentynine Palms City Council votes to “roll the dice” and reject solar project 

Delighting many residents who spoke out against it, the Twentynine Palms City Council voted down the E-Group Solar Project at last night’s council meeting. 

The Twentynine Palms City Council chambers erupted in relieved applause last night as the council voted to reject the E-Group Solar Project. In a three and a half-hour meeting packed with concerned residents, the controversial issue took up most of the evening with the majority of speakers – limited to two minutes instead of the usual three – spoke out against the proposed solar field. 

With Councilmember Steven Bilderain recusing himself from the discussion (he lives across the street from the proposed area), it came down to four votes. Councilmembers Daniel Mintz, Octavious Scott and McArthur Wright voted the project down while Councilmember April Ramirez voted in favor citing the owner’s property rights and the legal weight of AB205, the state legislation encouraging and enabling large-scale renewable energy projects. 

In response to a legal question from Councilmember April Ramirez, Assistant City Attorney Jennifer Farrell posed the decision as a gamble and laid out what to expect next: 

“I think if you voted to deny the project, I don’t think you’d be necessarily in violation of AB-205 but what you do have to decide tonight is whether you want to roll the dice. And you have a project before you tonight that has some level of certainty. The rolling of the dice would be if you were to deny the project, and say the applicant goes to the state and say they get approved, you have less certainty. You don’t know what that community benefits package will look like. It probably will involve less funds to the city, if any. It will probably involve funds going to labor and trade organizations and other community groups, Native American tribes. So, I think if you acted tonight to deny the project, I would not characterize that action as being in violation of AB-205, I would characterize it as you made the decision to effectively ‘roll the dice’ and see if the project will qualify at the state and see if the state approves the project and see if your benefits package is better or worse than the one before you tonight.” 

The 2012 moratorium on solar fields that the council implemented was referenced numerous times throughout the evening. Others cited issues such as dust from the grading process and the accompanying risks of Valley Fever, heavy water usage, wildlife disruption, and a major distrust in the developer. 

The meeting also included an update from Reach Out Morongo Basin Executive Director Robin Schlosser on transportation services, acknowledging the retirement of city staffer, Diane Olsen, and a closing report on the Elm Avenue project to house homeless individuals.