County approval clears way for pole-mounted solar arrays on land zoned for farm use near Highway 99 just north of Ashland
By Craig Breon for Ashland.news
The Medella Bison Ranch has the green light from Jackson County to begin installation of a 6-acre, 1.4 megawatt (MW) solar facility on land just outside Ashland’s city limits on the northwest side of town, after a county hearing officer issued a final decision approving the project, with conditions to protect the farmland on the site.
The final decision, issued Jan. 9, triggers a 21-day timeline for opponents of the project to appeal to the Oregon Land Use Board of Appeals (LUBA). Those opponents — primarily neighbors objecting to the visual impacts of the 84 pole-mounted solar arrays on gently sloping land directly adjacent to Highway 99 — are not expected to appeal.
The arrays will be mounted on 16-foot poles, with the roughly 26- by 30-foot photovoltaic panels extending above that by several feet, depending on the angle of the arrays towards the sun. The total electricity generated would be sufficient to power roughly 250 homes, depending on sun exposure and weather. Similar pole-mounted solar arrays can be seen across Highway 99 in front of car dealerships and Evergreen Federal Bank.
The ranch property for the arrays is zoned Exclusive Farm Use (EFU), a zoning type intended to preserve farm and ranchlands throughout Jackson County, with limited non-farm uses allowed. Solar generation, however, is specifically listed as a possible land use in EFU zones, under a conditional approval process.
The Medella Bison Ranch landowners, Thaddeus and Katie Gala, through their representatives, had asserted in application documents and at a Dec. 1 public hearing that the lands were not high-value farmland, had largely non-arable soils, and did not receive significant water from upslope due to the construction of Highway 99.
In response, county staff and project opponents cited decades-long use of the property for animal grazing and forage crop production. County staff also noted that EFU zoning for the land has provided the landowners with favorable property tax treatment for many years.
At December’s public hearing, the applicant cited additional evidence submitted to the county, arguing that construction and operation of the elevated solar facility would have little impact on future use of the land for farming and grazing purposes. Their claims included possible benefits to grazing animals from the shading solar arrays would provide.
Opponents of the project at the hearing focused not only on farmland preservation but also visual impacts to neighbors and to the northern “gateway” to Ashland along Highway 99. Residents above the project, including Daniel LosPalluto and Martin Eldridge, both homeowners on Ashland Mine Road who spoke at the hearing in opposition to the project, will essentially have a bird’s eye view of the solar panels as they look from their homes towards Grizzly Peak.
In her lengthy written decision, Hearing Officer Rebekah Dohrman found that the Medella Ranch project met the various standards required for a commercial-scale solar generation facility on EFU lands, so long as county staff recommended conditions are implemented.
The conditions imposed on the project include submission of a more detailed site plan, including setbacks and exact placing of the arrays, submission of a soil erosion plan, a restoration/revegetation plan and a limit on construction to occur only during the dry season, to reduce soil compaction.
The solar project will not be selling the power generated directly to Ashland’s electric utility. The utility declined to purchase the power, “because it doesn’t make financial sense given the wholesale rate we pay to Bonneville,” according to an email sent from Ashland Mayor Tonya Graham to Gerry Lehrburger, a neighbor to Medella Ranch who organized opposition to the project. “It will be [the applicant’s] responsibility to install all of the infrastructure needed to bring that electricity into the City’s electrical grid.”
Instead, according to city staff, the solar project will use “net metering” to sell power generated back to the utility grid.
Oregon’s net metering rules require utilities such as Pacific Power and the Bonneville Power Authority to credit residential and commercial customers for excess power sent to the grid. In general, the credits offset customers’ bills. In the case of a larger power provider such as Medella Ranch, the permitting required for selling power onto the grid is more complicated.
Timing will also be a factor for the Medella Ranch project. Under the federal “One Big Beautiful Bill” law signed in July 2025, commercial solar facilities must begin construction by July 4 to qualify for a 30% federal tax credit.
Ashland.news has reached out to the owners of Medella Bison Ranch for further details on permitting and timing for the solar project but has not received a response as of this publication. This story will be updated when a response is received.
Email Jackson County resident, consultant and former environmental law instructor Craig Breon at ckbtravel@earthlink.net.
Related stories:
Medella Bison Ranch solar installation moves toward approval (Dec. 3, 2025)
Solar energy project on north side of Ashland goes to county hearing Monday (Nov. 28, 2025)
