MONTEZUMA COUNTY, Colo., Oct. 5, 2026 (SEND2PRESS NEWSWIRE) — NoValleyRange, a neighborhood group located near Mesa Verde (a UNESCO World Heritage site and National Park), are fighting a Texas developer proposing a $240 million dollar solar and lithium battery development. The proposed project consists of 900 acres of solar panels and 8 acres of lithium battery storage at the base of Colorado’s only UNESCO world heritage site. This project is comparable in size to the 500,000-panel Cleve Hill Solar Park, the largest solar field in the UK.

The neighbors are fighting the project for the same reasons that many other rural communities across the US are fighting similar projects. Namely, that the solar field and BESS facility will degrade property values, harm tourism, and put small businesses out of business. However, the Valley Range Energy Park presents unique problems. It will dominate the views from the northside overlooks from Mesa Verde National Park and degrade the park visitor experience. Mesa Verde is not only a cultural treasure, but also the economic tourism engine that supports the entire community. Even more alarming is the potential for a catastrophic battery fire.

According to Lillian Wakeley, Board Director at Mesa Verde Association, in a recent social media comment, “The solar array will overwhelm the views from every overlook on the north escarpment in Mesa Verde National Park. Large battery storage means fire risk and also huge security lights. One of Mesa Verde’s major drawing points is the dark night sky, and ranger programs with new night-scopes are hugely popular. Please think about the impact on our tourist industry if we encroach on our national park with overwhelming lights, noise, and nearly a thousand acres of solar panels.”

Mesa Verde National Park is also a huge driver of the local economy. According to a National Park Service report, in 2023 505,000 visitors came to Mesa Verde National Park and spent $59.5 million in communities near the park. That spending in the local area had a cumulative benefit to the local economy of $75.6 million (*see note 1). Park visitation was directly responsible for approximately 8% of total employment in Montezuma County (*2).

The Valley Range solar project also includes 8 acres of lithium battery storage commonly referred to as a BESS. BESS facilities are new technology with a dismal safety record. Most of the BESS systems in the US have been installed since 2020 (*3) Unlike conventional fires, BESS fires produce their own oxygen and are nearly impossible to extinguish (*4). BESS fires also produce poisonous gasses including hydrogen cyanide and hydrogen fluoride. Most troubling, is the ability of a BESS fire to produce carcinogenic fallout in the form of aerosolized exotic metals (*5).

In the 2025 Moss Landing battery fire, 55,000 pounds of carcinogenic metals were aerosolized into the neighboring tourist town and surrounding marshes (*6).

BESS installations present unique economic problems when located near a major tourist attraction, such as Mesa Verde National Park.

According to KAZU News, the 2025 lithium-ion battery fire in the popular tourist town of Moss Landing California (and the accompanying repeated evacuation orders and national news coverage) devastated the local tourism industry (*7).

According to neighboring business owner, Bryan Davis, “Anything negatively effecting Mesa Verde National Park is a critical economic issue here. This community relies on the National Park for a huge percentage of the local economy.”

In recent weeks the Valley Range project has become a local political issue in Montezuma County with Republican commissioner candidate Rodney Cox saying “There is a solar farm being proposed now, and I’m against everything about that.” Rodney Cox’s opponent Democrat Rebecca Busic has said she supports the solar project and lithium battery installation (*8).

ABOUT NOVALLEYRANGE:

NoValleyRange is a local community activism group made up of two neighborhoods located near Mesa Verde National Park. We are sheep farmers, chocolate shop owners, campground owners, retirees and ordinary folks. NoValleyRange is not a partisan group, our members span the political spectrum. However, we are united in our effort to stop this project. Sign the petition and learn more at https://www.novalleyrange.com/.

CITATIONS:

*1 https://www.nps.gov/meve/learn/news/tourism-and-economy.htm

*2 https://data.coloradoan.com/unemployment/montezuma-county-co/CN0808300000000/

*3 https://www.energy-storage.news/us-double-bess-capacity-2028-eia-reports/

*4 https://eticaag.com/how-to-extinguish-battery-energy-storage-fires/

*5 https://eticaag.com/55000-pounds-of-toxic-metals-from-moss-landing-fire/

*6 https://www.mercurynews.com/2025/12/02/new-study-moss-landing-battery-fire-dumped-55000-pounds-of-toxic-metals-into-wildlife-rich-marshes/

*7 https://www.kazu.org/kazu-news/2025-04-09/moss-landing-business-owners-say-they-are-still-suffering-effects-of-battery-plant-fire

*8 https://www.ksjd.org/podcast/ksjd-local-newscasts/2026-09-24/commissioner-candidates-disagree-on-big-beautiful-bill-child-care

NEWS SOURCE: NoValleyRange

Keywords: Energy Oil Gas Wave and Solar, National Parks, Oil and Gas, Camping, Montezuma County, Mesa Verde National Park, Solar Field, BESS fire, Valley Range Energy Park, UNSCO, NoValleyRange, No Valley Range, MONTEZUMA COUNTY, Colo.

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