Notice of Informational Hearing and Public Site Visit and Bureau of Land Management Scoping Meeting for the Solar Two Power Project
On June 30, 2008, Stirling Energy Systems (SES) Solar Two, LLC (Applicant), submitted an Application for Certification (AFC) to the Energy Commission to construct a concentrated solar thermal power plant facility approximately 14 miles west of El Centro, in Imperial County. The project site is just south of Plaster City between the Union Pacific Railroad tracks and the Interstate 8 Highway. The Energy Commission has exclusive state-level jurisdiction to license this project and is considering the proposal under a twelve-month review process established by Public Resources Code section 25540.6. The Bureau of Land Management (BLM) is conducting its own concurrent process to determine whether to approve an amendment to the 1980 California Desert Conservation Area Plan and a right-of-way grant authorizing the construction and operation of the proposed project on federal lands.

PLEASE TAKE NOTICE that the Energy Commission has designated a Committee of two commissioners to conduct proceedings on the Application. The Committee has scheduled a public Informational Hearing and Site Visit to discuss the proposed Project and the BLM will conduct a Public Scoping Meeting as described below:

Monday, November 24, 2008
Public Informational/Scoping Meeting begins at 2:00 p.m.
Site Visit begins (bus leaves) at 3:30 p.m.

Imperial County Administration Center
Board Chambers
940 West Main Street, Suite 211
El Centro, California 92243

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Public speaks on solar project
By ERIC GALVAN, Staff Writer

Monday, November 24, 2008 10:20 PM PST

Imperial County Supervisor Gary Wyatt was emphatic when expressing his support for Stirling Energy’s solar project to representatives from the California Energy Commission and the Bureau of Land Management on Monday.

“This project will be the beginning of a great deal of opportunities our county has been looking for,” Wyatt said during an informational/scoping meeting held in the Board of Supervisors chambers in the Imperial County Administration Center in El Centro. “We are the home of renewable energy.

“We are the county that could be the capital of renewable energy in this country,” Wyatt said. “And Imperial County stands strongly, strongly behind Stirling’s project.”

Stirling’s “Solar Two” proposes the construction of one of the largest solar projects in the world.

If constructed, near the Plaster City area, the project would sit on 6,140 acres of BLM land and when fully constructed would have 30,000 solar dishes, referred to as “sun catchers,” that would provide 750 megawatts of energy to San Diego residents through San Diego Gas & Electric.

During Monday’s meeting, members of the public, as well as elected officials, voiced their opinions on the record about Stirling’s project.

CEC hearing officer Raoul Renaud, however, cautioned that the project has not yet been approved and said the CEC and BLM were still in the opening phases of the approval process.

While the majority of the speakers spoke in support of the project, there were those that had concerns with it.

Karen Collins, who identified herself as an anthropologist, said she was concerned with all the energy from the project going to San Diego residents and none going to Imperial County residents.

She also said she had problems with the site’s location saying, “Personally, I believe there are better areas to place this.”

Kevin Harper (left), project manager of Stirling Energy Systems, holds a map as he talks about the company’s proposed solar energy site during a visit to the area Monday evening.
Carmen Lucas, who said she is a Kumeyaay Indian who lives in the Laguna Mountain area, asked that an American Indian be a part of the surveying process.

She also cautioned against building the project in these economic times.

“We’re in desperate times and sometimes when we’re in desperate times we do desperate things,” Lucas said.

Speaking in support of the project, Imperial Irrigation District Director John Pierre Menvielle said the project is essential to spurring growth and development in this region.

“The district has committed its own resources to upgrading its transmission system to promote that growth and development in the coming years,” Menvielle said. “As an energy balancing authority, we applaud Stirling’s innovative technology.”

>> Staff Writer Eric Galvan can be reached at 337-3441 or at egalvan@ivpressonline.com