Citing significant and unavoidable impacts, San Benito County’s
Planning Department recommended a reduction of the size and scope
of Solargen’s proposed Panoche Valley solar project in its draft
environmental impact report that was prepared by an independent
consultant and made public this week.
Citing significant and unavoidable impacts, San Benito County’s Planning Department recommended a reduction of the size and scope of Solargen’s proposed Panoche Valley solar project in its draft environmental impact report that was prepared by an independent consultant and made public this week.
Labeling “Alternative C” as the environmentally superior alternative, the planning department’s ideal choice, among four options, would call for a reduction of the proposal from 2,500 acres covered by panels to 987 acres – and from 420 megawatts to 120 megawatts of power generated. The entire, proposed project area as it stands is estimated at 4,885 acres.
The alternative is a 71.4 percent reduction of power generated and an 80 percent smaller footprint, according to the EIR.
In California Environmental Quality Act documents, the county must come up with alternatives for the proposed project that would help mitigate the effects on the environment. The county released the EIR on Monday, and residents have 45 days to review it.
The recommended alternative also asks for 3,898 acres dedicated to wildlife preservation that would protect some of the endangered and threatened species, such as the kit fox and the giant kangaroo rat. Solargen would be given the opportunity to purchase the land as a biological preserve.
Solargen Chief Executive Officer Michael Peterson when reached today said he had not yet thoroughly reviewed the EIR.
“It’s not that it hasn’t been important,” he said. “It’s just that I haven’t been able to get to it yet.”
The alternative also would cut the construction time from five years to two. It would eliminate the most severe significant impacts of the project, potentially saving the habitats of the giant kangaroo rat, San Joaquin kit fox and blunt-nose lizard. Also, the long-term visibility of construction and night lighting would be reduced.
Other alternatives included Solargen’s preferred proposal, Alternative A, to shrink its proposal to 410 megawatts of power. The smaller project with 20 percent less acreage would help protect the habitat of the giant kangaroo rat. The construction time would stay at five years.
Alternative B would involve placing it on 1,596 acres and it would generate 184 megawatts. The project would be developed in three years and it would help preserve the habitat of the kit fox and kangaroo rat.
The alternative would have a 67 percent smaller footprint than the proposed project.
The final alternative is a consideration of moving the project to a different site in the Westlands Water District – using about 30,000 acres of fallow agricultural land in Fresno and Kings counties. It was not chosen because the impacts on the biological resources would be similar and the project would not meet all the goals of Solargen’s proposed project.
Look for the full story in the Pinnacle on Friday.
