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 is a utility-scale solar photovoltaic (PV) electrical generating and storage facility that will generate and deliver renewable electricity to the statewide electricity transmission grid. The proposal also includes future decommissioning, which is anticipated to occur after 39 years or more of operation. The Project is located on approximately 1,123 acres, of which approximately 1,082 acres is located on private lands and approximately 41 acres is located on land administered by the U.S. Department of Interior, Bureau of Land Management (BLM), Palm Springs-South Coast Field Office (Figure 2-1, Project Location). The 41-acre area on BLM-administered lands would be limited to the Linear Facility Routes (LFRs). Although the LFRs are not located within a BLM Renewable Energy Corridor, the area is located within a Development Focus Area (DFA) for solar, wind, and geothermal projects as designated by the Desert Renewable Energy Conservation Plan (DRECP) with a small portion (approximately 2.5 acres) being within the Desert Harvest Solar Project (DHSP) existing ROW. The DRECP Final Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) was approved by a Record of Decision (ROD) signed on September 14, 2016 (Figure 2-2, DRECP Development Focus Areas) (BLM 2016a). 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 LFRs 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 BLM. The Project would interconnect with the Southern California Edison (SCE) 230-kV Red Bluff substation via line tap on the existing DHSP gen-tie line located on lands administered by the BLM.

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