State committee OKs Ivanpah solar project

A California Energy Commission committee is recommending approval of BrightSource Energy’s 392 megawatt Ivanpah Solar Electric Generating System near the California-Nevada border.

The siting committee, which oversees the permitting process, decided Tuesday that despite the project’s negative environmental impacts, its benefits outweigh those impacts. The public has 30 days to comment on the decision before the California Energy Commission makes its final decision.

The Bureau of Land Management, which also has to approve of the project, is expected to release a final environmental impact statement Friday.

The San Bernardino County Board of Supervisors, concerned that the project would infringe on off-road vehicle and other desert land uses, voted in February to intervene in the Ivanpah project. It is unclear at this point if the county will comment on the siting committee’s decision, said Andy Silva, spokesman for First District Supervisor Brad Mitzelfelt.

Mitzelfelt in December stated that he was concerned that any jobs the project would create would benefit residents living in Las Vegas rather than in San Bernardino. He was also concerned that property taxes could suffer by BrightSource buying private land for wildlife habitat and turning it into public land. 

Mitzelfelt also stated that he would support the project if it was located on private land closer to the Victor Valley.

The Ivanpah project will be able to generate enough electricity to power 140,000 homes. The company has labor agreements with the State Building and Construction Trades Council of California as well as the Building and Construction Trades Council of San Bernardino and Riverside County. The project is expected to create more than 1,000 construction jobs.

Construction on the project is expected to begin this fall. BrightSource officials looking to obtain federal funding for the project by getting it ready for construction by the end of this year. The company was already awarded a $1.37 billion loan from the U.S. Department of Energy.

A copy of the siting committee’s decision can be found at http://www.energy.ca.gov. For more information on commenting, call the energy commission at 800-822-6228.

Meanwhile energy commission and BLM officials are taking evidence from the public on Tessera Solar’s 850 megawatt solar project proposed 17 miles east of Newberry Springs. The evidentiary hearings for the Calico Solar One project began at noon Wednesday.

Commissioners and BLM staff will hear from environmental groups like the Defenders of Wildlife and the Sierra Club as well as representatives from the Newberry Community Services District and Patrick Jackson, who owns land adjacent to the project.

A deputy county counselor representing San Bernardino County will speak on behalf of the county. The assistant county administrative officer will be speaking on behalf of the county Thursday.

The Thursday and Friday portions of the hearing will begin at 9 a.m. at Hampton Inn & Suites Barstow at 2710 Lenwood Road.

Contact the writer:
(760) 256-4123 or jcejnar@desertdispatch.com