Lancaster City Council Approve Three New Solar Sites.

City Council Meeting and AV Press Reports that the City Council in a unanimous vote Tuesday night Sept 9, 2013 gave final approval to three solar energy projects proposed for roughly 93 acres of open desert area on the east side of the Lancaster National Soccer Center. The City Council vote makes necessary changes to the zoning and land-use designations in an area generally bounded by avenues K-8 and L, and 20th and 30th streets east. The council's approval also validates a conditional-use permit the Planning Commission approved Aug. 19, allowing the projects to move forward as planned. The solar projects will be each owned by separate companies PsomasFMG, U.S. Topco and Morgan Solar. The PsomasFMG facility is on roughly 35 acres between avenues K-8 and K-12 west of 25th Street East, with a generating capacity of 3.8 megawatts. The project will consist of rows of photovoltaic panels on single-axis trackers. The panels will be between 6 and 8 feet tall, depending on their tilt. The U.S. Topco project is on roughly 38 acres between avenues K-12 and L west of 25th Street East with the capability to generate 8 megawatts of energy. Rows of fixed solar panels will be roughly 6 feet tall on the site. Morgan Solar's facility is on roughly 20 acres on the east side of 25th Street East. It will generate 1.5 megawatts of energy sitting on dual-axis trackers. The panels will be about 8 feet tall. All projects will connect to the power grid through underground wiring, a city report states.