Draft Environmental Study Available for Proposed Stirling energy Solar Two Project

The Bureau of Land Management (BLM) today released a draft environmental impact statement (DEIS) for public comment and the California Energy Commission (CEC) released a staff assessment (SA) for the Stirling Energy Systems Solar Two Project on public land in Imperial County, California.

Stirling Energy Systems has applied for a right-of-way authorization to construct a solar power plant on 6,144 acres of public land about 14 miles west of El Centro.  The proposed 750-megawatt solar plant would provide enough electricity to power about 225,000 average California homes.  The plant would use SunCatcher solar-dish technology designed to automatically track the sun and focus solar energy onto a power conversion unit to generate electricity.  The project also includes a 10.3 mile 230-kilovolt transmission line, substation, water-supply pipeline, and access road.

The joint DEIS/SA is now open to public comment.  The comment period will end 90 days after publication of the Environmental Protection Agency's notice of availability in the Federal Register, expected later this month.  BLM and CEC will hold at least one joint public hearing or meeting on the project.  The exact date, time and location for the public meetings, as well as the end of comment period, will be published on CEC and BLM web sites, and advertised in local media.   The BLM and the CEC will use public comments received to prepare a final EIS, with a decision expected later in the year.
 
The BLM, as the lead agency under the National Environmental Policy Act, and the CEC as the lead agency under the California Environmental Quality Act, have jointly prepared the draft EIS/SA which is available online at http://www.energy.ca.gov/sitingcases/solartwo/documents/index.html or http://www.blm.gov/ca/st/en/fo/elcentro/nepa/stirling.html and by contacting the BLM El Centro Field Office at (760) 337-4400 for paper copies.
 
Further details can be found at the BLM renewable energy web page: http://www.blm.gov/ca/st/en/fo/elcentro/nepa/stirling.html and the CEC web page http://www.energy.ca.gov/sitingcases/solartwo/index.html or by contacting Jim Stobaugh, BLM project manager at (775) 861-6478, or email Jim_Stobaugh@blm.gov.

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