“If something were to happen, the state and the endowment would be covered,” he said.

The entire project spans a total of more than 32,000 acres in Bingham and Fremont counties, with the majority of it on private land.

Because the project is bordered by landowners who are involved in the farm, it has broad support from them, Laney said.

Bruce Wilding, a participating landowner in the project, wrote to the department in support of the project, meeting materials show.

“The project site, both on private and public lands, while sufficient for grazing, has limited broader agricultural value due to the desert climate and limited water resources in the area,” Wilding wrote. “The combination makes this an excellent location for renewable energy development.”

He added that grazing on the land with wind turbines would continue after development.

NorthRenew Energy first applied to lease the endowment land in 2019 for the project, known as Arco Wind and Solar, according to a staff memo. Idaho Department of Lands (IDL) staff has worked with the company to develop a single lease for both energy sources.

NorthRenew sold the project to PacifCorp in February, according to the company’s website.

IDL developed a new energy leasing policy June 18, and used it to develop the lease for this project.

Bingham County commissioners are supportive and have issued a conditional use permit for the wind portion and work is underway for the solar portion, Laney said.

In 2022, Bingham County Planning & Zoning took up the project and voted to approve it with one commissioner voting against, the Bingham News Chronicle reported. The meeting lasted four hours, with 20 people submitting testimony in opposition to the proposal, the Chronicle reported, with concerns ranging from migratory patterns of eagles and bats, the area’s lava tubes and potential tribal artifacts.

The project’s plans include mitigation efforts such as buffer zones for sage grouse, technology to reduce bird collisions, and turbine spacing and minimizing fencing to mitigate effects on wildlife migration, Laney said.

Guido covers Idaho politics for the Lewiston Tribune, Moscow-Pullman Daily News and Idaho Press of Nampa. She may be contacted at lguido@idahopress.com and can be found on Twitter @EyeOnBoiseGuido.