Blackwell Solar Park Project by Blackwell Solar Park, LLC (PP 13237)

Blackwell Solar Park Project by Blackwell Solar Park, LLC (PP 13237)

Blackwell Solar Park, LLC (project proponent), has requested a GPA to amend the Circulation Element of the Kern County General Plan to remove the midsection line reservations of Section 5 and 8 of Township 27S, Range 20 East for the Blackwell Solar Park Project (project). The project proponent is also requesting two CUPs to allow for the construction and operation of a solar photovoltaic (PV) power-generating facility with a capacity of 20 megawatts (MW) of electricity. The project site boundary encompasses a 166-acre portion of an approximately 477-acre parcel [APN: 068-191-21] in unincorporated Kern County, CA. The project site is within the A (Exclusive Agriculture) zoning district. The project site is also within the jurisdictional boundaries of the Kern County General Plan and portions of the site are designated either 8.3 [Extensive Agriculture (min. 20-acre parcel size)] or 8.3/2.5 (Extensive Agriculture/Flood Hazard) by the General Plan. In addition, the project includes a petition to cancel a Williamson Act land use contract (13-2) for approximately 166 acres of farmland used for dry land grazing. The onsite switchgear would be connected to the available 70-kV connection point of the Pacific Gas and Electric Blackwell Substation by stringing a new gen-tie from the switchgear to the substation via underground conduit or aboveground wiring on new or existing poles pursuant to all Kern County and State regulations. There are three options for the gen-tie route that will be analyzed in the EIR.

Kern

California Air Resources Board (ARB), California Department of Conservation (DOC), California Department of Parks and Recreation, California Department of Transportation, District 6 (DOT), California Energy Commission, California Highway Patrol, California Native American Heritage Commission (NAHC), California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC), California Regional Water Quality Control Board, Central Valley Fresno Region 5 (RWQCB), Office of Historic Preservation, Resources Agency, California Department of Fish and Wildlife, Central Region 4 (CDFW)

California Department of Fish and Wildlife, Central Region 4 (CDFW)

Power:Solar (Megawatts 20)

General Plan Amendment, Use Permit, WALUC

Aesthetics, Agriculture and Forestry Resources, Air Quality, Biological Resources, Cultural Resources, Cumulative Effects, Drainage/Absorption, Flood Plain/Flooding, Geology/Soils, Growth Inducement, Hazards & Hazardous Materials, Hydrology/Water Quality, Land Use/Planning, Mineral Resources, Noise, Population/Housing, Public Services, Recreation, Schools/Universities, Septic System, Sewer Capacity, Solid Waste, Transportation, Vegetation, Wetland/Riparian, Wildfire, Wildlife