Gibson Solar Farm Project (ZF2020-0043)

Gibson Solar Farm Project (ZF2020-0043)

Gibson Renewables, LLC is seeking to construct and operate a solar PV electric-generating facility with the capacity to generate up to 20 MWac of renewable electrical energy. The Gibson Solar Farm Project (Project) would also include a 6.5 MWac/26 megawatt-hour (MWh) Battery Energy Storage System (BESS). The facility would be designed to operate year-round and would generate electricity during the daylight hours when local electricity demand is typically at its peak. The electricity generated by the PV field will be used in part for charging the batteries and the remaining energy generated by the PV field will be delivered to the grid. The batteries will discharge the stored energy during a 4-hour period (generally off-peak) providing 26 MWh of renewable energy. The major components of the facility include PV modules, single-axis sun tracking support structures, BESS, and electronic/electrical equipment to convert the electricity from the PV modules from direct current (DC) to alternating current (AC) electricity and transfer the electricity to the Pacific Gas and Electric (PG&E) Madison Substation via a short generation tie line (gen-tie line), which will be either underground or overhead, that connects the plant to existing overhead 21-kilovolt (kV) distribution line. The Project would be constructed on a 147.42-acre parcel of land, 0.6 miles west of Madison in unincorporated Yolo County. The PV modules themselves would cover approximately 34.4 acres, and the area used for access roads, equipment, and other fixtures would require another 5.5 acres. Hence, the total Project footprint would cover 39.9 acres. Because spacing between the parallel arrays is about 14 feet—to minimize inter-row shading of the sun—more than 107 acres would be available for use as a stable grassland/pollinator plant substrate. The Project would be located on a parcel that is currently in agricultural production and is surrounded by orchards and field crops. The parcel is currently under a Williamson Act Contract (Contract #71-206). A multi-use plan for the Project site has been proposed to support pollinators, grazing, growing native plants, host apiary use at the site, and carry out “agrivoltaics” (the practice of having agricultural uses in and around large-scale solar PV farms).

Yolo

Unincorporated

California Air Resources Board (ARB), California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection (CAL FIRE), California Department of Parks and Recreation, California Department of Toxic Substances Control (DTSC), California Department of Transportation, District 3 (DOT), California Department of Water Resources (DWR), California Energy Commission, California Governor's Office of Emergency Services (OES), California Highway Patrol (CHP), California Natural Resources Agency, California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC), Central Valley Flood Protection Board, Delta Protection Commission, Office of Historic Preservation, State Water Resources Control Board, Division of Drinking Water, State Water Resources Control Board, Division of Water Rights, California Native American Heritage Commission (NAHC), California Department of Conservation (DOC), California Department of Fish and Wildlife, North Central Region 2 (CDFW), California Regional Water Quality Control Board, Central Valley Sacramento Region 5 (RWQCB)

California Native American Heritage Commission (NAHC), California Department of Conservation (DOC), California Department of Fish and Wildlife, North Central Region 2 (CDFW), California Regional Water Quality Control Board, Central Valley Sacramento Region 5 (RWQCB)

Power:Solar (solar PV electric-generating and battery storage facility)(Megawatts 20)

Use Permit

Aesthetics, Agriculture and Forestry Resources, Air Quality, Biological Resources, Cultural Resources, Cumulative Effects, Energy, Geology/Soils, Greenhouse Gas Emissions, Hazards & Hazardous Materials, Hydrology/Water Quality, Land Use/Planning, Noise, Tribal Cultural Resources, Utilities/Service Systems, Vegetation