A North Carolina company wants to build a solar power facility just south of Interstate 84 near Durkee, about 25 miles southeast of Baker City.

Heelstone Development, LLC is seeking a conditional use permit.

The Baker County Planning Commission has scheduled a public hearing on the application for June 5 at 6 p.m. at the County Courthouse, 1995 Third St.

The project, which would generate about 3 megawatts of electricity, according to the company’s application, would be the third solar farm in Baker County.

One is just south of Interstate 84 near Sutton Creek, about five miles south of Baker City, the other is near Unity.

The company hopes to install the solar panels in 2025 and have the site producing power by the end of that year.

The panels would be installed over about 33 acres. The electricity would power about 670 homes, according to the application.

The 47.8-acre property is owned by Thomas and Maria Bludworth of Scappoose, Oregon. The property is zoned commercial-industrial, and is between Durkee and the Desert Hills Mobile Home and RV Park.

Electricity from the project would be sold to Idaho Power Company.

Whitney St Charles, development manager for Heelstone Renewable Energy, LLC, wrote in an email to the Baker City Herald that the company, which has developed solar power projects in Klamath, Lake and Deschutes counties, among others, chose the Durkee property because it satisfies the company’s three main criteria.

“Heelstone looks for land that is relatively flat with no to low environmental sensitivities,” St Charles wrote. “The Durkee Solar property was attractive for those reasons, as well as its designation as commercial-industrial within Baker County’s zoning ordinance.”

The property is also adjacent to an Idaho Power substation, and Idaho Power has signed a contract to buy the power if the project is approved.

According to documents included with Heelstone’s application, the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife has determined that the property is not within sage grouse habitat, nor does it pose a threat to mule deer winter range.

The solar farm near Baker City ranks 11th on the county’s list of largest property taxpayers, with a 2023-24 bill of $129,520.

The facility near Unity, which is smaller, is not among the top 20 taxpayers, County Assessor Kerry Savage said.

Idaho Power Company is the county’s largest property taxpayer, at $1.937 million in 2023-24. Union Pacific Railroad was second, at $1.054 million, and Ash Grove Cement was third at $944,000.

An online link to the application and other documents is available by calling Tara Micka at the planning department, 541-523-8219, or by emailing tmicka@bakercountyor.gov.