Project Vitals
Solar Millennium, LLC and Chevron Energy Solutions, the joint developers of this project, propose to construct, own, and operate the Palen Solar Power Project. The project would be a concentrated solar thermal electric generating facility with two adjacent, independent, and identical solar plants of 250 megawatts (MW) capacity each for a total capacity of 500 MW.
The project would utilize solar parabolic trough technology to generate electricity. With this technology, arrays of parabolic mirrors collect heat energy from the sun and refocus the radiation on a receiver tube located at the focal point of the parabola. A heat transfer fluid (HTF) is heated to high temperature (750 degrees Fahrenheit) as it circulates through the receiver tubes. The heated HTF is then piped through a series of heat exchangers where it releases its stored heat to generate high pressure steam. The steam is then fed to a traditional steam turbine generator where electricity is produced.
The project site is located approximately 10 miles east of Desert Center, along Interstate-10 (I-10) approximately halfway between the cities of Indio and Blythe, in Riverside County, California. An application has been filed with BLM for a right-of-way (ROW) grant of approximately 5,200 acres.
Public Comments
Comments on this project are welcome at anytime during the environmental review process. However, to ensure that comments will be addressed in the Final EIS/SA, the BLM must receive written comments on the Draft EIS/SA and Plan Amendment within 90 days following the date the Environmental Protection Agency publishes its Notice of Availability (NOA) in the Federal Register. The NOA was published in the Federal Register on April 7, 2010.
Comments addressed to BLM can be sent by e-mail CAPSSolarPalen@blm.gov , fax (760) 833-7199, or in writing to: Allison Shaffer, Project Manager, Palm Springs South Coast Field Office, BLM, 1201 Bird Center Drive, Palm Springs, CA 92262
Public Meetings and Hearings
The EIS process is initiated with publication of a Notice of Intent (NOI) and requires public scoping. A NOI was published for this project on November 23, 2009. A public scoping meeting was subsequently held on December 11, 2009 at the University of Riverside Palm Desert Graduate Center located at 75-080 Frank Sinatra Drive in Palm Desert, California.
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, Allison Shaffer at (760) 833-7100
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