Solar recycling project denied

Along with the boom in solar energy generation projects, solar recycling is becoming more prevalent, resulting in companies looking to expand their operations to accommodate the new industry. One company, i-Quest Inc., was hoping to bring its own operations to the Pahrump Valley but Nye County commissioners shot down the idea at the board’s most recent meeting.

Representatives with i-Quest went before the commission on July 16 with two requests - a zone change and a master plan amendment, which would have allowed for the development of a solar panel recycling facility.

“i-Quest… has acquired a five-acre parcel of land at 2850 E. Basin Avenue in Pahrump with plans to implement a multi-year, multi-phase project to house the technology developed by i-Quest and its affiliates,” a letter of justification from the company, dated March 10, reads. “i-Quest plans to transfer all its manufacturing base currently situated in other states and consolidate those activities at this central location in Pahrump, Nevada.”

The Pahrump Regional Planning Commission (RPC) heard i-Quest’s requests in June and recommended denial of the zone change and master plan amendment, a matter that must be decided by the Nye County Commission. The RPC also later denied an associated Conditional Use Permit application for the project.

Fortunato Villamagna, chairman for i-Quest, told the Nye County Commission he felt his company’s project had been “dragged along” in the wake of controversy caused by the medical waste processing facility recently proposed for the valley, which did receive approval from the RPC but is largely opposed by the public. He was quick to assure the community that his project is not in any way connected to the MediWaste project, emphasizing that the facility would be a “pass-through” system to test solar panels and resell those that are still viable while sending the unusable panels to a separate recycling facility.

“Fundamentally, this is really a very simple business. These are the same panels that are sitting on your roof or next door to you at some business,” Villamagna stated. “And there really are no emissions. We test voltage, so there are no air emissions, there are no liquid emissions, there are no solvent emissions. All we do is bring in the panels, test their viability and ship them back out… To be clear, the 2850 Basin Avenue is not the recycling facility. There is no processing that takes place there, there is no disassembly that takes place, nothing is landfilled… the entire panel comes in and the entire panel goes out.”

Commissioners posed a variety of questions, asking about traffic volume, how the reusable panels would be cleaned, where the unusable panels would go and more. Villamagna said he expected a volume of about 1,000 panels per month, with reusable panels to be dry-washed before repackaging and resale. Those in need of recycling would be taken to a facility, likely in Silver Springs, where the components that make up the panels would be broken down, collected and resold.

However, it was the potential for local expansion that seemed to create the most concern. In a town where the word “solar” has become something of a taboo, it’s no surprise that there were several local residents speaking against the project that afternoon. Many said they feared allowing i-Quest to proceed would eventually result in a full-scale recycling plant and set a precedent that could attract other such companies. Commissioners themselves appeared hesitant about the possibility of expansion as well.

“When you originally talked about this at the RPC, you did make the comment that this is only the beginning, that there are more phases,” Nye County Commissioner Frank Carbone, who acts as liaison to the RPC, said during the July 16 meeting. He also noted that he didn’t feel the Basin Avenue property was the right location for such a project in the first place.

Villamagna said his intention was to create additional phases outside of the immediate area, to serve other areas.

Commissioner Bruce Jabbour then homed in on the use of the term “recycling”, telling Villamagna that as the applications were written, it would authorize a solar panel recycling facility. Villamagna said the use of the term was generic and he would certainly be open to changing the wording but commissioners had clearly made up their minds.

Commissioner Ron Boskovich made the motion to deny the zone change and master plan amendment, with a second from Carbone. That motion passed with all in favor.

“Remember, we are not the recycling area,” commissioner Debra Strickland asserted as the item came to a close.

Contact reporter Robin Hebrock at rhebrock@pvtimes.com