BLM and CEC Release Draft Environmental Study for Proposed Calico Solar Project

The Bureau of Land Management (BLM) has released a draft environmental impact statement and the California Energy Commission (CEC) has issued a staff assessment (SA) for the Calico Solar project on public land in San Bernardino County, Calif.

Calico Solar, LLC has applied for a right-of-way (ROW) authorization from the BLM to construct and operate a solar energy power plant on 8,230 acres of public land about 37 miles east of Barstow, immediately north of Interstate 40.  The proposed 850-megawatt concentrated solar power 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. 

Up to 34,000 SunCatchers would be installed in the project area. The project also includes a new 230- kilovolt (kV) substation, a two-mile, 230-kV connecting transmission line, access roads, an administration and maintenance building and perimeter fencing. An amendment to the California Desert Conservation Area Plan is also being considered as part of this project proposal

An official 90-day comment period on the joint document will begin upon publication of the notice of availability in the Federal Register by the Environmental Protection Agency, expected shortly.  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 hearing or meeting, as well as the end of the comment period, will be published on CEC and BLM websites and announced in local media. 

The document is being prepared to comply with the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA), the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) and California regulations pertaining to power plant site certification.   The BLM and the CEC will evaluate and respond to timely public comments when preparing the final EIS, currently scheduled for release in summer 2010. Decisions from the BLM and CEC are expected later this year.
 
The draft is available at http://www.energy.ca.gov/sitingcases/calicosolar/documents/index.html  Copies may be reviewed at the BLM Barstow Field Office, 2601 Barstow Road, Barstow, California 92311.  Comments should be submitted to Project Manager Jim Stobaugh by mail,
P. O. Box 12000, Reno, Nevada 89520, or e-mail, Jim_Stobaugh@blm.gov.

More information about the Calico Solar project is available from Jim Stobaugh (BLM national project manager) at (775) 861-6478 or Christopher Meyer (CEC project manager) at (916) 653-1639.

California Desert District   22835 Calle San Juan De Los Lagos, Moreno Valley, CA 92553