Last week, the Idaho State Board of Land Commissioners voted to approve its first ever lease for a solar farm on state land.
The Idaho Press reports the board voted 3-1, with Attorney General Raúl Labrador voting against and Gov. Brad Little absent, to approve a lease with PacifiCorp for a wind and solar farm outside Idaho Falls in Bingham County.
Idaho’s endowment land is managed to generate revenue for endowment beneficiaries, which includes public schools.
Currently, that land generates about 59 cents an acre with grazing leases, however, the project would bring in an estimated $200 to $300 per acre per the approved lease.
The lease is for 49 years and six months on 11,160 acres of state endowment land with an anticipated 10 to 12 wind turbines and around 2,000-5,000 acres of the initial solar footprint.
