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