AMERICAN FALLS — A Florida energy company plans to build what would be Idaho’s largest solar farm on 6,500 acres of rangeland within rural Power County, county officials confirmed.

NextEra Energy, based in Juno Beach, Florida, has proposed to build a 300-megawatt solar panel facility near American Falls as the first phase of a larger project, according to Power County officials.

The county has scheduled a public hearing on zoning for the proposal for 7 p.m. Tuesday in the Power County Annex building, located at 500 Pocatello Ave., American Falls.

An official with NextEra said the company is the world’s largest producer of renewable energy and that NextEra Energy Resources subsidiaries operate a solar portfolio consisting of about 2,684 megawatts in 26 states.

American Falls farmer Kamren Koompin said his family entered into an option to lease some of the rangeland to the company about three years ago. The Koompins currently lease the rangeland to Kevin Ramsey, who runs cattle on the property. Ramsey owns the remainder of the rangeland where the solar farm would be located.

Ramsey said the company has also inquired about purchasing additional cropland in the vicinity.

Ramsey said, “They’ve got an option on my ground and we’ll see what happens. It’s been going on for quite a while.”

Koompin said the land is located north of Lake Channel Road, south of the railroad tracks and east of Quigley Road. Koompin said the company has been operating a couple of testing sites on the property to make certain it’s a good fit for solar production.

“I know there are other companies out there asking many more growers and farmers all over Eastern Idaho,” Koompin said. “There’s going to be a lot of energy companies looking for the best places to put solar projects.”

Idaho Power spokesperson Brad Bowlin would not speak about the specific proposal, as Idaho Power hasn’t entered into a power purchase agreement or contract yet. However, Bowlin said adding new solar power fits well with the company’s long-range plan.

Currently, Bowlin said Idaho Power doesn’t have any solar projects on its system larger than 80 megawatts. However, Idaho Power has entered into a contract to buy 120 megawatts of solar power from Jackpot Holdings, which is an Idaho company planning a farm south of Twin Falls. That project should be online within a year, Bowlin said.

Bowlin said Idaho Power’s long-range plan calls for adding 700 megawatts of wind power, 1,405 megawatts of solar power and 1,600 megawatts of power storage to its system by 2040. The utility has set a goal of using 100 percent clean energy by 2045.

“In general, we have anticipated and planned for a significant amount of wind, solar and battery storage projects to come online over the next several years. ... We know things are heading in that direction,” Bowlin said.