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Rio Grande County Draft 2 of Solar Regulations

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The county is creating land use regulations for renewable energy, with a primary focus on solar. We heard what you had to say and made updates on your provided thoughts, comments, questions, and suggestions! Read through the below draft 2 to make sure we got it correct!
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Michael Dax Feb 3 2026 at 11:35AM on page 18

Suggestion
This is all great, and really strong language! Is there anything about post-construction monitoring? Because our understanding around wildlife and solar is still so nascent, at least for now, post-construction monitoring will be critical to tailoring future habitat plans

Michael Dax Feb 3 2026 at 11:30AM on page 7

Suggestion
This should include consultation with CPW. CPW has energy focused staff that has expertise, with solar, especially and minimizing impacts. It would also be worth considering mandating this consultation early in the siting process, before a developer is too settled on a particular design or layout.

Laura Conchelos Feb 2 2026 at 8:39AM on page 6

Question
I'm not sure what water is required for operating solar equipment other than cleaning? And cleaners probably are bringing their own water (to avoid minerals in the local water) though I am not familiar with cleaning of larger scale systems. Maybe they warm and treat local water to avoid those issues. For reference, I always tell clients not to use local water to clean panels, because you cannot use the cold ground water on the hot panels (they may break) and because the minerals in our water may build up on the panels, causing them to be less productive.

Laura Conchelos Feb 2 2026 at 8:32AM on page 2

Question
Does this contradict 2b. If you require the solar array to meet the minimum setbacks of the zone district then what is the point of 2b?

Laura Conchelos Feb 2 2026 at 8:31AM on page 1

Suggestion
I would up this to 18 feet. My solar arrays are often between 10' and 11'. I'm not sure why the height limits change by distance from property line? Why not just pick a height for residential? It would simplify things? There are pole-mounted arrays that might be as high as 18' and are really valuable in areas where there are trees and you want to eke out the most production possible from a small array. I would recommend you allow those to within 10' of the property line as well. They are uncommon because they are quite a bit more expensive than regular ground mounts but I don't think these folks should be penalized for wanting them.
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