big solar renaissance
Even though Californians use less electricity per capita than residents of any other state, our population and our commercial demand for electricity keep on growing. In order to meet this demand growth and achieve our climate-emission reduction targets, we need to develop all the wind, geothermal, solar PV, and biomass power we can, plus install all cost-effective energy efficiency improvements -- and we must get busy and harvest the most abundant energy resource we have: California's storied sunshine, or what we call "Big Solar." California was the original incubator of large concentrated solar power technologies in the 1970s. Today those same technologies are employed in other nations, from Spain to South Korea, to commercially generate electricity. We possess the high-quality solar resources and the advanced technology required to take full advantage of this clean and virtually limitless energy resource. All that is lacking is the political and economic will to make it happen.
Summary:
CEERT has continued to provide assistance in resolving key issues facing several of the utility-scale solar projects seeking DOE loan guarantees and transmission interconnection, including work with the CAISO, the CPUC, and the Governor’s office.
Solar Trust of America broke ground on its $2 billion Blythe project, which on completion will be the largest solar plant in the world.
We organized meetings with the solar and wind industries and the Secretary of Resources, CEC, and Governor’s office to discuss DRECP concerns. We are providing comments on issues such as the new RPS acreage calculator, which projects the amounts of land needed for solar, wind, and geothermal statewide.
We continued to provide comments and actively engage with the BLM’s Solar PEIS and the California BLM's EIS process, especially on a new development zone for the West Mojave. CEERT worked to reconcile differences between conservationists and the solar industry on solar development zones.
Recent Developments:
Project Development
CEERT continued to provide assistance in resolving key issues facing several of the utility-scale solar projects seeking DOE loan guarantees and transmission interconnection, including work with the CAISO, the CPUC, and the Governor’s office. We have convened and participated in numerous meetings with the developer and conservation communities throughout the last six weeks. We have been in regular communication with state and federal regulatory and permitting agencies. We participated in meetings in Washington, D.C. with Secretary Salazar, and in Sacramento with the Deputy Secretary of the Interior and the California Director of the Bureau of Land Management.
On June 17 Solar Trust of America broke ground on its 1,000 MW, $2 billion Blythe project, which on completion will be the largest solar plant in the world. Governor Brown and Secretary Salazar participated in the groundbreaking ceremony. Solar Trust joins BrightSource as the only companies that have started construction on the 2010 ARRA-funded projects. On another front, Solar Trust has requested a suspension on its Ridgecrest project to allow time for readjustments that will enable it to move forward.
CEERT helped to delay action on a proposed franchise fee of 2% of gross annual revenue for solar projects in Riverside County, as county policymakers do not want to undermine their communities’ ability to compete for solar projects and the jobs that come with them. Solar companies’ representatives said the fee would leave them unable to supply utilities with competitively priced power. Solar Trust’s Blythe project won an exemption from all future fees in order to preserve its financing package, and the county will negotiate a separate fee arrangement for First Solar’s 550 MW Desert Center project.
The Desert Renewable Energy Conservation Plan (DRECP)
CEERT has continued our very active participation in the DRECP. We organized meetings with the solar and wind industries and the Secretary of Resources, CEC, and Governor’s office to discuss issues and concerns with the DRECP, and we proposed and helped explore a restructuring that would streamline the process and enhance the likelihood of it achieving its goals. We also continued our work in reviewing agency-developed products in the Mapping, Covered Activities, and Covered Species working groups.
We are continuing to provide comments on the many items being rolled out as the DRECP moves toward the release of the Draft Conservation Plan in August. Of particular interest is the recently released RPS acreage calculator, which projects the amounts of land needed for solar, wind, and geothermal statewide.
CEERT is currently working with LSA and other parties on a solar development plan for the DRECP. We continue to convene working sessions with industry leaders and DRECP staff, and to advocate that the Plan include accurate information on renewable energy resource development.
Chris Beal of the Resources Law Group has been appointed DRECP deputy director, replacing Michael Valentine, who is retiring. CEERT anticipates maintaining a strong collaborative relationship with Chris, based on our work with him over the last two years.
BLM Solar Programmatic Environmental Impact Statement (PEIS
CEERT continues to provide comments and actively engage with the Bureau of Land Management's Solar PEIS, and with the California BLM's independent EIS process. CEERT’s Anne Baker joined representatives of the developer and environmental communities in a meeting with Department of Interior Deputy Secretary David Hayes to discuss proposal options for the overall BLM Solar PEIS.
California BLM responded to CEERT's proposal for a new zone for development in the West Mojave with some options for areas the zone might cover. BLM has secured funding to begin the EIS process for a West Mojave zone, which has been one of the barriers to development in California’s highest solar-radiation area. CEERT has formed a working group with the environmental community to develop a proposal to BLM for such a zone.
Working with Stakeholders
CEERT worked quietly but intensely behind the scenes to reconcile significant differences between the land conservation community and the solar industry on the question of solar development zones. We have convened multiple discussions with environmental groups, agencies, and the industry. These efforts resulted in an important agreement on a set of joint comments on the BLM Draft PEIS, submitted by the Desert Renewable Energy Working Group, and in a more moderate set of comments submitted by the solar industry.
CEERT continues to work with conservation representatives and developers in the Mantell group to develop policies on the PEIS and the DRECP. The group will be turning more of its attention to the problems with the development of the Conservation Strategy for the DRECP, and the governance structure of the DRECP and its lack of transparency to stakeholders.
On June 18 Los Angeles County held a public hearing on “Town and Country,” a general-plan update for the Antelope Valley that delineates four levels of renewable energy zones. CEERT attended the meeting and participated in the group discussion, and will be submitting comments on the plan.
On June 16–17 we participated in a two-day tour of potential solar development sites in the West Mojave and the Imperial Valley, hosted by Terry O’Brien of the California Energy Commission (CEC).
