The meeting will be held on the University of California Riverside-Palm Desert Campus. At a later date, BLM and the CEC will conduct a public site visit and informational hearing concerning the projects, with details yet to be finalized.
Chevron Energy Solutions and Solar Millennium have applied to the BLM for two right-of-ways on public land to construct, operate, and maintain two solar thermal power plants with an expected combined capacity of 1,452 MW and utilizing about 10,100 acres public land.
The proposed Palen site is about 10 miles east of Desert Center and a half mile north of Interstate 10. The project expects to generate about 484 MW of electricity and proposes a project footprint aggregating approximately 3,800 acres. The proposed Blythe site is approximately eight miles west of Blythe, California and three miles north of Interstate 10. The project will generate approximately 968 MW of electricity and proposes a project footprint aggregating approximately 6,300 acres.
The BLM published a notice of intent in the Federal Register on November 23, 2009, to prepare two joint draft environmental impact statements (DEIS)/draft land use plan amendments and preliminary staff assessments (PSA) for the proposed power plants. Publication of the NOI initiates a public scoping period of 30 days, ending December 23, 2009. During the scoping period, the public is invited to identify and comment on issues, concerns, potential impacts, alternatives, and mitigation measures that should be considered in the analysis of the proposed action. The BLM and CEC will use public scoping comments to prepare the draft environmental documents that will be available for public review.
The DEIS/PSA is a collaborative effort between 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.
