HomeMy WebLinkAbout5.1 - Chris Illes - Strong Opposition to Proposed Community Benefits Agreement & Demand for Full Environmental ReviewFrom:Chris Illes
Cc:Clerk of the Board
Subject:Strong Opposition to Proposed Community Benefits Agreement & Demand for Full Environmental Review – North
Chico Solar / Skyway Solar Farm Project
Date:Friday, October 30, 2026 10:22:21 AM
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The Butte County Board of Supervisors
25 County Center Drive, Suite 205
Oroville, CA 95965
Dear Members of the Butte County Board of Supervisors,
As a local resident, I am writing to express my strong opposition to the proposed 1,700-acre Skyway Solar Farm
(North Chico Solar Project). I respectfully urge the Board to reject or indefinitely defer any endorsement or
commitment regarding the proposed Community Benefits Agreement (CBA) at this time. Agreeing to a CBA before
the developer has even submitted a formal application or completed a comprehensive environmental review leaves
our county completely in the dark regarding the true long-term impacts on our community.
While renewable energy is an important asset, this specific location—an extraordinary, fragile foothill landscape
between Chico and Paradise—is entirely inappropriate for an industrial complex of this magnitude. I ask the Board
to stand with its constituents on the following critical points:
• Severe Wildfire and Safety Risks: The project area sits inside a High Fire Severity Zone. Replacing a vital natural
fire buffer for our hill communities with half a million solar panels and a massive battery energy storage system
(BESS) creates severe ignition risks and threatens critical evacuation corridors.
• Irreversible Ecological Damage: The current project design requires the clear-cutting of thousands of slow-
growing, native Blue Oak trees, the destruction of unique local habitats, and the complete obstruction of the largest
deer herd migration corridor in California.
• Threats to the Tuscan Aquifer: The 1,700-acre industrial footprint overlays seasonal streams and acts as a critical
replenishment area for the Tuscan Aquifer. The resulting soil compaction and runoff threaten the primary water
resource for local agriculture and household consumption.
• Bypassing Local Control: By planning to apply directly to the California Energy Commission (CEC), the
developer is explicitly attempting to circumvent county zoning rules, environmental standards, and local public
oversight.
• Risks associated with large battery farms - see issues from Moss Landing batteries and fires and pollution in just
the last year
A financial token through a premature CBA cannot replace a science-based environmental review or true public
participation. I urge you to preserve the County's legal right to challenge this project, refuse the CBA, and direct
County staff to aggressively engage with the CEC to demand full mitigation and protection for Butte County's
residents.
Sincerely,
Chris Illes
6634 Evergreen Lane
Paradise, CA 95969