Desert Hot Springs To House One of Largest Rooftop Solar Arrays in California

DESERT HOT SPRINGS (CNS) – Desert Hot Springs will soon be home to a
warehouse with one of the largest rooftop solar arrays in California, officials
announced today.

The Viento logistics center will be located by Interstate 10 near
Little Morongo Road. A sortable multi-story e-commerce warehouse and
distribution center for consumer products, it will encompass about 3.5 million
square feet and stand approximately 105 feet high.

Two environmental groups, Oswit Land Trust and the Tahquitz group of
the Sierra Club, had filed an appeal against the project, asking the City
Council to require a new initial study to determine if the project requires a
mitigated negative declaration or an environmental impact report, but the two
groups settled with the city recently.

"If this project had been proposed on land that is zoned and
designated for residential, open space, recreation, or was near or joining
wildlife habitat or wildlife corridors, we would not have settled," Oswit Land
Trust President Jane Garrison told City News Service.

Garrison said she thinks all industrial warehouses should have solar
on rooftops.

According to the project’s development permit request, it would be
used primarily for the storage and consolidation of goods before they’re
distributed. It will operate 24 hours a day, 365 days a year.

"We are pleased that the facility will be built in a sustainable way
that is friendly to the environment and which will provide thousands of jobs to
our residents and revenue to the city of Desert Hot Springs," Mayor Scott
Matas said.

According to the development permit request, more than 1,800 people
are expected to be employed when the warehouse is operational.

Copyright 2022, City News Service, Inc.

CNS-06-15-2022 15:44