BONNEVILLE COUNTY, Idaho (KIFI) – A new project approved by the Idaho board of land commissioners is gaining the attention of the Southeast Idaho community. The project, if developed, would become the first wind and solar farm on Idaho endowment land, located outside Idaho Falls.
The Arco Wind and Solar project was approved in a vote of 3 to 1 by the Idaho land board.
The lease of the land is set to last 49 years, in which time the energy company Pacificorp will develop 11,160 acres of state endowment land for around 10 to 12 wind turbines and 2,000-5,000 acres of solar generator equipment.
The land is currently leased for grazing purposes.
But according to Jason Laney of the Idaho Department of Lands, the new lease would provide more funding to endowment beneficiaries, like public schools.
“If everything goes according to plan, we expect to bring in 1.5 million to $2 million annually from this lease,” Laney told Local News 8. “Which works out to be roughly 2 to $300 an acre, compared to $0.59 an acre.”