Riverside County Supervisors Delay “Sun Tax” Vote

Riverside County supervisors Tuesday put off a vote on imposing a fee on solar power companies for the use of county land, roads and services, citing concerns about its impact.

“If the county rams through something that the industry can’t live with, it’s not going to have good consequences,” Todd Stewart, a spokesman for Oakland-based BrightSource Energy, told the Board of Supervisors. “We need more time to prepare creative solutions. I think we can get where we need to go.”

BrightSource, which is planning to build a 750-megawatt plant near Blythe, is one of 30 firms with joint or independent solar power projects in the works in the eastern part of Riverside County.

Representatives of the firms have been negotiating with county officials for months to reach consensus on what would represent a reasonable fee for the businesses to pay in exchange for running their operations within the county.

The county proposed a 2% franchise or development fee, which would apply to gross receipts “arising from the use, operation or possession” of the project, according to county documents.

County officials estimate the charge would bring in $30 million to $38 million per year.

When the charge, which critics have labeled a “sun tax,” was proposed in June, dozens of people spoke out in opposition, telling the board the fee would be too onerous, leading solar firms to back away from local expansion plans, potentially killing construction jobs other benefits associated with solar electricity.

According to county documents, the eastern part of the county is federally recognized as the “largest solar energy zone in California,” with 202,000 acres of productive space, extending from Desert Center to the Colorado River.

Stewart asked for a 90-day postponement to give solar power industry representative more time to discuss the fee with county officials.

“It’s all down to finance-ability,” he said. “There are difficult decisions that have to be made. There are different ideas on the table.”

Supervisor Marion Ashley acknowledged the importance of arriving at an amount “that we can all mutually agree on.”

But he didn’t believe a resolution would take three months.

He also said no board vote should be taken without Supervisor John Benoit, whose district encompasses the development area.

Benoit, absent from Tuesday’s meeting, has said he wants the county compensated for allowing renewable energy projects on county land.

County officials have also emphasized that the solar companies should be charged for using roads, increasing demand for medical and police services and increasing the workload of planning and assessor’s office employees.

The board voted 4-0 to review the matter again on Nov. 1.

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