City of Industry has been secretly planning 2K-acre solar farm outside its jurisdiction: report

The City of Industry has been quietly plugging away with plans to build a multimillion-dollar solar farm on more than 2,000 acres of undeveloped land on the borders of Los Angeles, Orange and San Bernardino counties.

The city secretly spent spent more than $1 million on leases, reimbursements and studies related to the farm, while its officials simultaneously denied the existence of the plans, according to an investigation by the Southern California News Group.

Industry’s plans call for a 440-megawatt solar power facility that could generate enough power to serve up to 10 percent of the power needs of Los Angeles City.

The city’s secrecy has drawn the ire of officials such as Konradt Bartlam, city manager of Chino Hills, who has jurisdiction over part of the site. “If I was attempting to do what they are doing, I’d be run out on a rail,” he told the News Group.

The city has reportedly also been trying to acquire the 2,450-acre Tres Hermanos ranch, once owned by late Los Angeles Times Publisher Harry Chandler and which is currently owned and controlled by an independent state panel, to add to the project. It submitted a $100 million offer for the land.

If the plans proceed, Industry would enter an agreement would San Gabriel Valley Water and Power, whereby the power company would pay the city $4 million a year for the energy generated by the the solar panels. [Pasadena Star-News] — Cathaleen Chen