Project Vitals
Proposed Location: Riverside County, about 13 miles northwest of the city of Blythe
Electricity Production Capacity: up to 750 megawatts
Company: McCoy Solar, LLC (subsidiary of NextEra Energy Resources, LLC)
Acreage: about 7,700 acres of BLM land, 470 acres of private land
Status: Notice of Intent to Prepare an Environmental Impact Statement published 8/29/11
Public Comment: Scoping deadline 9/28/11
Electrictrical Transmission Connection: A 16 mile generation-tie line is proposed to connect the project to Southern California Edison's Colorado River Substation
Company's Expected Benefit:
- The McCoy project is anticipated to generate enough electricity to power 225,000 homes
- The project would employ an estimated 600 workers during peak construction and 13-20 workers during operations.
Public Comment
Publication of the NOI initiates a public scoping period of 30 days, ending September 28, 2011. During the scoping period, the BLM and the county will solicit public comments on planning issues, concerns, potential impacts, alternatives, and mitigation measures that should be considered in the analysis of the proposed action.
Comments addressed to BLM can be sent by e-mail jchilders@blm.gov, or in writing to Bureau of Land Management, California Desert Distict, Attn: McCoy Solar Project, 22835 Calle San Juan de Los Lagos, Moreno Valley, CA 92553.
Public Meetings and Hearings
A public scoping meeting is scheduled on September 20, 2011 for the proposed McCoy Solar Energy Project in Riverside County. The meeting will be held from 6:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m. at the UCR Palm Desert Graduate Center, 75-080 Frank Sinatra Drive, University Building B, Auditorium 1, Palm Desert, Calif.
Future meetings, hearings and any other public involvement activities will be announced at least 15 days in advance through public notices, media releases, and/or mailings.
For more information please contact the Bureau of Land Management Project Manager, Jeff Childers at (951) 697-5308.