Candela Renewables Agua Fría Solar Project Drives Approval of Agricultural Preservation on Historic Ranch in Yavapai County, Arizona
You may have seen last Monday’s exciting news about the Orme Family Conservation Easement that will preserve approximately 1,000 acres of historic ranch land in Yavapai County, Arizona. Candela Renewables had the unique opportunity to collaborate with the Orme Family and Central Arizona Land Trust by contributing $250,000 to the Orme Ranch Forever Campaign. This contribution completed the matching requirement needed to unlock funding from the USDA to establish the conservation easement. The easement will preserve these lands for sustainable grazing and ensure good stewardship of riparian habitat along Ash Creek and throughout the easement area in perpetuity.
Readers may wonder what this easement has to do with Candela’s Agua Fría Solar Project. A lot. Candela is developing a 450 MW solar generating facility on Arizona State Lands adjacent to the Orme Ranch. Once operational, the project will provide clean, carbon-free power to thousands of Arizona homes and businesses. The project design will avoid water courses and other sensitive areas, allowing for the free passage of wildlife, and it will use site preparation and construction techniques intended to preserve existing micro-topography and native vegetation. In addition, the project has engaged a team of experts to survey the site and evaluate sheep grazing for vegetation management. We will steadfastly focus on avoiding and mitigating impacts on the local environment while honoring historic ranching values in the area.
Funding the Orme Ranch conservation easement on lands near our project was a logical and welcome opportunity to extend our commitment to sustainability, habitat preservation, and ranchland conservation beyond the borders of our project. The easement benefits one of our closest neighbors and the entire Upper Agua Fria Watershed community by preserving riparian lands along approximately six miles of Ash Creek, a tributary of the Agua Fria River. Both Ash Creek and the Agua Fria flow past our project site. Our commitment to this easement is a model for how solar projects can honor legacy ranch lands, improve project communities and provide durable benefits to wildlife in Arizona.
This past weekend, we celebrated the Orme family at Central Arizona Land Trust’s Wide Open Spaces Awards Event on August 18. For more details about Central Arizona Land Trust, please visit: https://centralazlandtrust.org/. To learn more about the Orme Ranch Forever Campaign, watch https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KvY0udvTxoY&t=74s. Be sure to visit our LinkedIn page and return to Sunlight, Candela’s blog, to stay up-to-date with our Agua Fría Solar Project and upcoming endeavors.
