The Mohave County Board of Supervisors is meeting today on whether to approve permits to allow a biofuels plant to be built near the Valle Vista subdivision north of Kingman, Ariz. The zoning commission approved the plan a few weeks ago.
The Kingman Daily Miner has a pretty good rundown of the issues involved with the biofuels plant. Opponents trotted out the tired old “eyesore” argument again, which I found unconvincing.
Our take on the biofuels plant can be found here. Another interesting perspective on Valle Vista’s troubles is here.
UPDATE: The county unanimously approved the biofuels plant on Monday.
I think one of the most dubious new arguments that opponents brought to the meeting was that many biofuels plants are closing across the country and were worried the new plant near Kingman would meet the same fate. It’s obvious, however, that the plants are closing because of the poor economy and the drop in energy prices in the past year. SunWest is surmising that the economy and energy prices will rebound by the time the plant is open.
Even so, the zoning permit is conditional. SunWest has to start construction within two years, or the land reverts to agricultural/residential. That seems like a reasonable safeguard.