Teller County settlement requires Quantum Tech to remove energy equipment from Divide
A settlement followed the county’s revocation of Quantum Tech’s land-use permit after officials determined its energy operation exceeded the permit’s scope.
The Teller County Board of County Commissioners approved a settlement requiring Quantum Tech LLC to stop commercial energy production at its Divide property and remove its energy-producing equipment from the county by Dec. 1.
The deadline is 90 calendar days after the agreement took effect Sept. 2. The compliance agreement says Quantum’s 1995 conditional-use permit authorized a construction storage yard and office, while the county determined that the company’s energy-producing operation exceeded that authorization. The Planning Commission revoked the permit in May, and the Board of Adjustment upheld the revocation in July. Quantum disputed the county’s position, and neither side admits liability under the settlement.
Quantum must remove its Energy Producing Unit and related non-office equipment and infrastructure, including solar collectors, heat-collection units, turbines, controllers, a nitrogen tank, piping and conduit. The equipment must be relocated outside Teller County.
The company may continue ordinary office use in the existing office building and may perform work needed to decommission, disconnect, secure, maintain, remove and relocate the equipment during the compliance period.
After completing the work, Quantum must notify the county and request an inspection. The county may inspect with at least five calendar days’ written notice. If officials find items that remain out of compliance, they must give Quantum at least 14 calendar days to correct them, with additional time allowed when reasonably necessary and the company is diligently pursuing a cure.
The settlement generally bars the county from imposing additional fines, penalties or land-use enforcement for the violations covered by the agreement during the compliance and applicable cure periods, as long as Quantum remains in material compliance. The county may still act immediately in response to a public-health or safety threat.
The agreement also required Quantum to dismiss its judicial-review case, Teller County District Court Case No. 2026CV30077, within five business days of the effective date. At the county’s Sept. 10 meeting, county counsel reported that the Rule 106 case had been dismissed and that a notice of dismissal had been filed, according to the meeting recording. The dismissal is without prejudice, and each side will pay its own legal costs.
County counsel also said a building official had requested an inspection and that officials expected to visit the property the following week to observe the decommissioning and removal process. The agreement does not reinstate Quantum’s prior permit or guarantee approval of a future application. Quantum may submit a new conditional-use permit or other land-use application, but the county retains discretion over whether to approve it.
The board approved the agreement unanimously at its Sept. 2 special meeting, according to the approved meeting minutes.