Sapphire Solar Project

Sapphire Solar Project

EDF Renewables Development, Inc. (EDFR) on behalf of Sapphire Solar, LLC (Applicant) proposes to entitle, construct, operate, maintain, and decommission the Sapphire Solar Project (Project). The Project would include a utility-scale solar photovoltaic (PV) electrical generating and storage facility and associated infrastructure to generate and deliver renewable electricity to the statewide electricity transmission grid. The Project’s solar site (solar site) would include up to 117 megawatts (MW) of PV solar generation and up to 117 MW of battery storage. The Project would also include two Linear Facility Routes that would include one 230-kilovolt (kV) generation tie (gen-tie) line, two access roads (one would be constructed for primary access and one for County required secondary access for emergency services), and one collector line route, all of which would be located on lands administered by the U.S. Department of Interior, Bureau of Land Management (BLM). The Project would interconnect with the Southern California Edison 230-kV Red Bluff substation via a line tap on the existing Desert Harvest Solar Project gen-tie line located on lands administered by the BLM. The Project would also include a secondary (redundant) communications path that would be installed as a new under hung fiber optic cable (i.e., a second cable hung under the transmission lines on the same poles) as the gen-tie line and existing Desert Harvest Solar Project gen-tie line. The Project is anticipated to be online in late 2025. The Applicant is seeking a minimum 39-year Conditional Use Permit (CUP) (CUP 220035) for the construction, operation, and decommissioning of the proposed solar facility, as well as a Public Use Permit (PUP) (PUP 220002) for portions of the gen-tie line that would traverse County Roads (Osborne Avenue and Kaiser Road). The Applicant is also seeking cancellation of Williamson Act contracts within the Project site, which will be considered as part of the Project’s permitting process. Roads along the Project perimeter on the outside of the solar facility would remain dedicated to public access as applicable. Ancillary permits, including encroachment permits, grading and construction permits, and certificates of occupancy, are anticipated from the County. These permits and approvals are local ministerial actions that would occur after certification of the Project’s Environmental Impact Report.

Desert Center

Riverside

Countywide

California Air Resources Board (ARB), California Coachella Valley Mountains Conservancy (CVMC), California Department of Conservation (DOC), California Department of Fish and Wildlife, Inland Deserts Region 6 (CDFW), California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection (CAL FIRE), California Department of Parks and Recreation, California Department of Resources Recycling and Recovery, California Department of Toxic Substances Control (DTSC), California Department of Transportation, District 8 (DOT), California Department of Transportation, Division of Aeronautics (DOT), California Department of Transportation, Division of Transportation Planning (DOT), California Department of Water Resources (DWR), California Energy Commission, California Governor's Office of Emergency Services (OES), California Highway Patrol (CHP), California Native American Heritage Commission (NAHC), California Natural Resources Agency, California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC), California Regional Water Quality Control Board, Colorado River Basin Region 7 (RWQCB), California State Lands Commission (SLC), Colorado River Board, Office of Historic Preservation, State Water Resources Control Board, Division of Drinking Water, State Water Resources Control Board, Division of Drinking Water, District 20, State Water Resources Control Board, Division of Water Quality, State Water Resources Control Board, Divison of Financial Assistance

Power:Solar (Megawatts 117)

Use Permit

Aesthetics, Agriculture and Forestry Resources, Air Quality, Biological Resources, Cultural Resources, Cumulative Effects, Drainage/Absorption, Energy, Flood Plain/Flooding, Geology/Soils, Greenhouse Gas Emissions, 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, Tribal Cultural Resources, Utilities/Service Systems, Vegetation, Wetland/Riparian, Wildfire