On Mar. 29, the Kern County Board of Supervisors approved changes to the General Plan as well as a new Conditional Use Permit that will allow construction of a new solar power plant to proceed.
Maricopa Sun LLC has proposed a 700 MW facility on currently fallow agricultural land in southwestern Kern County. Located east of Taft and west of Interstate 5, the complex would sit on approximately 6,047 acres and utilize an array of over 8 million photovoltaic cells to generate electricity. The project site would also be bisected by the California Aqueduct.
Concerns about the project had been raised prior to Tuesday's hearing. Two oil companies, Vintage Production California LLC and AERA Energy LLC, had complained that the Environmental Impact Report (EIR) did not adequate address impacts to mineral resources, did not adequately describe the existing regional and local environmental setting, and therefore asserted that the EIR did not comply with CEQA.
The Sierra Club, Kern-Kaweah Chapter, raised concerns about impacts to biological resources and air quality impacts during construction as well as the conversion of farmland to another use.
The Planning Department's Lorelei Oviatt reported that proposed mitigations for the project were more than adequate and that the EIR adequately describes the project. Additionally, staff reported that the mitigations have satisfied the previous commenters as no further objections have been made (nor raised during the hearing). Indeed the Sierra Club expressed support for the project at the hearing. Additional supporters of the project include former Governor Arnold Schwarzenneger and state Senators Fuller and Rubio.
According to Oviatt, some of the proposed mitigations were a guarantee that at least 25% of the jobs associated with the project will be local and stipulations on where photovoltaic cells must be purchased such that Kern County will receive over $1 million of sales tax revenue. Additionally, the project should generate over $1 million in property tax revenue and provide power for over 300,000 homes.
For more information:
Video of the hearing (at the 11:15 minute mark): Maricopa Sun Solar Project Approval
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