Over the next couple of years, the Bureau of Land Management (BLM), Phoenix District Office, will be preparing an Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) to address potential effects of a right-of-way application for a large-scale solar energy project southwest of the Greater Phoenix Metropolitan area. The Sonoran Solar Energy project is proposed by Boulevard Associates, LLC to construct and operate an electrical generating facility, using concentrated solar thermal (CST) power on federally managed lands south of the town of Buckeye in Maricopa County, Arizona. The project would be specifically located in the Little Rainbow Valley, east of State Route 85 and require approximately 4,000 acres within an approximately 14,400-acre application area.
The CST power plant would provide up to 375 megawatts (MW) of solar thermal electrical generation with options for natural gas backup and/or thermal storage capabilities. The project would be made up of one or more power blocks. Each power block would be located near the center of its respective solar field and would contain multiple feedwater heaters, steam generators, steam superheaters, and feedwater pumps. The facility is expected to operate for approximately 30 years and would connect to the electrical grid at the existing Jojoba Substation using a newly-constructed, 3-4 mile, 500 kilovolt (kV) tie-line. The transmission line and other related facilities that would be developed specifically for this project would also be included in the EIS analysis and the ROW grant as appropriate. If any upgrades to the Jojoba Substation would be required as a result of this project, those upgrades would be included in the EIS analysis and ROW grant.
As the project progresses, this web site will contain information about meetings, reports, maps, and other valuable information about the project. Today (July 8, 2009) marks the “official” beginning of the project with publication of the Notice of Intent to write an Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) in the Federal Register. If you are interested in the Federal Register publication, follow the link above to read the publication. If you want more information about this project, check back here often as we will be posting a lot of information in the next few weeks.
For further information, or to submit a scoping comment for the EIS, you may send an email to
sonoransolar@blm.gov or write a letter to:
BLM Phoenix District Office
Sonoran Solar Energy Project
ATTN: Joe Incardine
21605 N 7th Ave.
Phoenix, AZ 85027
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