PG&E Remote Grid Installation Project at Whitaker’s Forest Research Station
2 Documents in Project
Summary
SCH Number
2022080290
Lead Agency
University of California, Berkeley
Document Title
PG&E Remote Grid Installation Project at Whitaker’s Forest Research Station
Document Type
NOD - Notice of Determination
Received
Posted
12/16/2022
Document Description
The Project would install a new remote solar micro-grid, referred to as a standalone power system (SPS), at the Whitaker’s Forest Research Station within Whitaker’s Forest. Whitaker’s Forest is owned and managed by UC Berkeley and surrounded by public forest land in Tulare County, California. Once installed, the Project would provide existing residential structures on-site with a consistent and reliable source of electricity that would replace the need for the existing overhead electric distribution lines. PG&E will be responsible for operation and maintenance of the facility. The Project consists of a 12-panel solar array mounted on the roof of a new shipping container. Supporting infrastructure includes battery storage, a new driveway, and a new underground conduit between the solar array and residential structures. The Project is part of PG&E’s Remote Grids Pilot Program, a program within PG&E’s Community Wildfire Safety Program.
The Initial Study and Mitigated Negative Declaration (MND) analyzed the potential environmental effects of implementation of the Project with regard to the following environmental topic areas: Aesthetics; Agriculture/Forestry Resources; Air Quality; Biological Resources; Cultural Resources; Energy; Geology and Soils; Greenhouse Gas Emissions; Hazards and Hazardous Materials; Hydrology and Water Quality; Land Use and Planning; Mineral Resources; Noise; Population and Housing; Public Services; Recreation; Transportation; Tribal and Cultural Resources; Utilities and Service Systems; Wildfire; Mandatory Findings of Significance. Based on the analysis in the MND, it was determined that, for all resource areas, the Project would not result in any significant environmental effects that cannot be mitigated to less than significant levels.
Contact Information
Name
Raphael Breines
Agency Name
UC Berkeley
Job Title
Senior Planner
Contact Types
Lead/Public Agency
Phone
Email
Location
Counties
Tulare
Regions
San Francisco Bay Area
Cross Streets
Forest Service Road 14S75
Other Location Info
Located approximately 2.57 miles northwest of Wilsonia, in Tulare County, California, along Forest Service Road 14S75. Coordinates for the approximate location of the Project are 36°42.10.8”N, 118°55’58.9”W (36.703006, -118.933025).
Notice of Determination
Approving Agency
University of California, Berkeley
Approving Agency Role
Lead Agency
Approved On
County Clerk
Tulare
Final Environmental Document Available at
https://capitalstrategies.berkeley.edu/environmental-review
Determinations
(1) The project will have a significant impact on the environment
No
(2a) An Environmental Impact Report was prepared for this project pursuant to the provisions of CEQA
No
(2b) A Mitigated or a Negative Declaration was prepared for this project pursuant to the provisions of CEQA
Yes
(2c) An other document type was prepared for this project pursuant to the provisions of CEQA
No
(3) Mitigated measures were made a condition of the approval of the project
Yes
(4) A mitigation reporting or monitoring plan was adopted for this project
Yes
(5) A Statement of Overriding Considerations was adopted for this project
No
(6) Findings were made pursuant to the provisions of CEQA
Yes
Attachments
Notice of Determination
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