SCH Number 2021040421

Project Info

Title

Mountain View Wind Repower Project

Description

The applicant is requesting a WECS Permit (WCS200003), Change of Zone (CZ2000032) and a wind access setback Variance (VAR210001). The Mountain View Wind Repower Project (Project) encompasses 139.1 acres on a 1,255.19-acre site, located in unincorporated Riverside County, primarily within the boundaries of the existing MVPP I & II wind energy facilities. Of the 1,255.19 acres, 1,202.86 acres are located on private land and 52.34 acres are located on BLM land. The private land area also overlaps with the Coachella Valley Multiple Species Conservation Plan, specifically 383.39 acres in the Whitewater Floodplain Conservation Area. The Project would repower the existing wind energy facilities with modern, higher capacity wind turbine generators (WTGs), and is anticipated to be operational by December 2022. The Riverside County Planning Department has reviewed the proposed Mountain View Wind Repower Project. Commercial WECS Permit No. 200003 proposes removal of 93 existing Mitsubishi 600-kilowatt (kW) WTGs and the subsequent installation of 16 Vestas 3.6 and 4.3 MW WTGs with a maximum height of 492 feet. Seven (7) existing Mitsubishi 600 kW WTGs would remain as part of the Project. In addition, two existing met towers would be removed, and one new free standing lattice met tower would be installed with a maximum height of 328 feet. The Project would be capable of producing approximately 229.90 gigawatt hours (GWh) of power per year for operational years 1 through 10. Beyond operational year 10, assuming decommissioning of the seven Mitsubishi 600 kW WTGs, the Project would produce approximately 215.90 GWh of power annually for the remainder of its operational life. Section 18.41.D.3(c) of Ordinance No. 348 allows the planning commission to reduce the established scenic setbacks to 1.25 times the total WECS 492-foot height, or 615 feet. The applicant is requesting a setback reduction for two WTGs in the northeast portion of the project site to reduce the required scenic setback from 1,320 feet to 1,000 feet. Change of Zone No. 2000032 proposes to modify a 281.81-acre portion of an existing 600-acre parcel (APN 522-070-027) from Rural Residential (R-R) to Wind Energy (W-E). Variance Case No. 210001 proposes to reduce the five (5) times rotor diameter wind access setback for seven (7) existing WTGs and four (4) new WTGs. Five (5) times the rotor diameter for the existing and new WTGs would be 225 meters (738.19) and 585 meters (1,919.29 feet),respectively. The applicant proposes reducing the five (5) time rotor diameter wind access setback for the 11 existing and new WTGs to a minimum of 110 meters (360.89 feet).

2 documents in project