Dozens of protesters waved signs saying, “Stop AES!” outside a downtown building as Santa Fe County commissioners convened Monday morning for what would be hours of testimony in an animated battle over a proposed solar power and battery storage facility south of the city.

The continued wrangling over the sprawling Rancho Viejo Solar project — with the Planning Commission’s approval earlier this year of a land use permit appealed to the County Commission — comes as New Mexico aims to make a shift to clean energy from coal and gas generation. But Rancho Viejo Solar, proposed by Northern Virginia-based AES Corp., has drawn opposition from residents concerned about the risk of fire and property values.

“We all want solar. We just want safe solar,” said Butch Martin, who lives near Eldorado.

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