County OKs permit for Colorado’s second-largest solar farm

The second-largest solar farm in Colorado could be coming to fields south of Bennett.

The Denver Post reports Arapahoe County commissioners last week approved a permit for the 75-megawatt Hunter Solar project, which would rank as Colorado’s second-largest solar farm after the 120-megawatt Comanche solar site near Pueblo.

The proposed 333,000-panel facility just east of Denver would boost the state’s solar power portfolio by nearly 8 percent.

The Solar Energy Industries Association says Colorado ranks 11th nationally for installed solar capacity — including residential rooftop and solar gardens — with 974 megawatts. Nearly 200,000 homes are powered by solar-generated electricity, and the industry employs 6,789 Colorado workers.

Cypress Creek Renewables says a groundbreaking at the Hunter site could happen next year, with electricity flowing on to the grid in 2020.