Appendix H Phase 1-HME_07-03-2014 - with ADDENDUM

790 Pages·2014·36.32 MB·English

Appendix H 
Phase I Environmental Site Assessment / 
Hazardous Materials Evaluation 
Draft Environmental Impact Report  February 2015

Fremont Solar (Springbok 2 Solar Farm)

FREMONT VALLEY PRESERVATION PROJECT
SOLAR PROJECT DESCRIPTION
PROPOSED PROJECT
The applicant, AquaHelio Resources, LLC is proposing a Conditional Use Permit (CUP) for the
Fremont Valley Preservation Project (Project) on approximately 4,806 acres to allow a
photovoltaic solar electrical generating facility in the A (Exclusive Agriculture) zone. To implement
the proposed Project, the applicant is requesting a Conditional Use Permit in Kern County. A
General Plan Amendment to the Circulation Element of the Kern County General Plan is requested
to eliminate all section and mid-section lines within the project as future road reservations. In
addition, a zone change from A-1 and E (20) RS to ‘A’ for a portion of the project is requested for
consistency with the General Plan.

Access to the proposed project site is anticipated to be from State Route 14 (SR 14), Neuralia
Road, and Redrock-Randsburg Road, a County road. The site and its vicinity are largely vacant,
with scattered agricultural uses. The project site consists of 32 parcels on six separated and
privately owned properties (Property or Properties).

Approximately 3,318 acres of the project site is under Williamson Act Land Use Contract. A Notice
of Nonrenewal was approved on January 10, 2006 and the land use contracts are scheduled to
expire on December 31, 2015. Therefore, a Williamson Act Land Use Contract Cancellation is also
requested.

Land divisions (parcel maps) should be considered and may be processed in the future to provide
plats, for financing, lease, or purchase. Fourteen Vesting Tentative Parcel Map Numbers (VTPMs)
have been requested and assigned by the Kern County Planning and Community Development
Department for the Project: VTPM 12030 through VTPM 12043, inclusive.

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Separate encroachment permits will be requested for road, highway, railroad, LADWP, SCE, and
PG&E encroachments or easements.

SOLAR PROJECT
General Description
The proposed PV solar generation project will develop a 1,008 megawatt (MW) solar photovoltaic
(PV) power generating facility and associated infrastructure on a total of approximately 4,806
acres of land within unincorporated Kern County. . To implement the proposed Project, the
applicant is requesting Conditional Use Permits in the ‘A’ zone in accordance with the Kern County
Zoning Ordinance. The maximum net amount of land covered by PV panels and other project
facilities will be approximately 3,500 to 4,400 acres. The power produced by the proposed project
will be conveyed to the local power grid via approximately 50 miles of either a 230 kV or 345 kV
generation-tie line. The generation-tie line will be located within designated public and private
easement areas or any approved extension located adjacent to Project lands on Neuralia Road,
and will connect to either the LADWP Barren Ridge substation West of Highway 14,, the AV
Clearview Transmission Yeager substation located at Rosamond Boulevard and Highway 58 (SR
58), the SCE Windhub substation located on Oak Creek Road, west of Highway 14 and south of
Highway 58, the SCE Randsburg substation located southeast of Randsburg on Butte Avenue, or
the SCE Kramer substation located at the southwest intersection of Highways 395 and 58.

The proposed Project is intended to operate year-round, and could produce up to 1,008 MW DC
of solar power at full build-out. The proposed Project will generate electricity during daylight
hours when electricity demand is at its peak, and will provide for the annual electricity needs of
approximately 300,000 residences under optimal conditions. The proposed Project will consist of
the following Project components, which are described in detail below:
(1) A solar field of 3.6 million glare resistant PV solar modules.
(2) Up to 50 miles of 230 kV or 345 kV transmission lines and towers, 85-100 feet tall,
located between collector substations and transmission substation.
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(3) A system of interior collection and supply power lines, 35-60 feet tall, or underground
distribution cables, located between inverters and substation.
(4) Up to ten (10) switchgear pads for distribution service to pumps. (100,000 square
feet combined).
(5) Up to ten (10) collector substations for collecting solar generation and stepping up
voltage to transmission levels. (100,000 square feet each).
(6) 1,008 equipment pads (one per MW; each 675 square feet, 15 feet tall).
(7) Up to four Operations and Maintenance (O&M) buildings (22,500 square feet each,
16 feet tall).
(8) Up to four above-ground water tanks (48 feet wide by 20 feet tall).
(9) Infrastructure including driveways and fencing (six-foot-tall chain link or wildlife-
friendly wire fencing topped with two feet of barbed wire).
Project Facilities and Operations
Up to four O&M buildings (each approximately 22,500 square feet and 16 feet tall) will provide
temporary assembly and storage space during construction. The buildings will include bathroom
facilities serviced by a private septic system. A covered outdoor assembly and storage area
(80,000 square feet, 16 feet tall) will be directly adjacent to the O&M buildings.
Solar Project Facilities and Operations
The Project includes construction and operation of 1,008 MW (1 Gigawatt) solar PV energy
generation facility. The PV crystalline modules will be mounted on either a south facing fixed tilt
racking system that runs east to west, or on a tracking system that runs north and south and
follows the sun from east to west throughout the day.
The metallic racking that supports the PV modules will be rated for seismic and wind loading
requirement of the local region. Underground and overhead cabling will be used to transport
electricity from the PV panels to the points of aggregation for the system.
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Individual PV modules are connected together in series to create a “string” to carry direct current
(DC) electricity. Multiple DC strings are brought together into a combiner box to merge the strings
into a single cable and provide overcurrent protection. From the combiner boxes, the cabling will
run underground to inverters mounted on small concrete equipment pads distributed across the
site. The inverters take the DC output from the combiner boxes and convert it to alternating
current (AC) electricity.

The AC electricity will then be increased to medium voltage with a standard “step-up”
transformer. The medium voltage cabling will create a collection circuit that will carry the
electricity to the proposed collector substation via cables running both underground and
mounted on poles (35-60 feet tall). Medium voltage and 480V cabling to supply power to the
water pumps will run both underground and overhead, mounted on poles (35-60 feet tall)
throughout the Project site.

The ten collector substations (each about 100,000 square feet) and their accompanying
switchgear pads (about 100,000 square feet combined) will collect all the medium voltage circuits
and will contain metering equipment, switchgear, protective relays, and larger transformers to
step-up the voltage to match the voltage of the transmission grid at the interconnection point.
The interconnection points will be either the LADWP Barren Ridge substation, the AV Clearview
Transmission Yeager, the SCE Windhub, the SCE Randsburg substation, and/or the SCE Kramer
substation. The collector substations and the transmission substations will be linked by a
generation-tie line hung on wood or steel poles (85-100 feet tall).

Interconnection with Statewide Grid
On the site of the PV Solar Project, there will be up to ten collection substations, each with a high-
voltage transmission circuits connecting the generated power to one or two Project switching
stations also located on the project site. One or more sub-stations and transmission lines will be
oversized up to a capacity of 2,500 MW to accept solar power generated by one or more adjacent
projects in the future. This "collector hub" will provide a simplified transmission pathway into the
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utility owned substation, ultimately reducing the transmission line congestion in the area that
would result from additional solar power generation projects in the general vicinity. This collector
hub will also include an Energy Storage System (ESS) capable of storing and discharging between
1% and 10% of its total capacity onto the electrical grid. Customer-side load balancing for solar
generation may be also be provided by hydro-electric or combine-cycle natural gas as required by
the utility company. The technology of the ESS system will be selected based on economic
feasibility, acceptance by the customer utility and as required by California law.

The transmission circuits on site will be supported on tubular steel poles of both single-circuit and
double-circuit configurations. Because the proposed solar generation facility is several times
larger than the typical commercial-size solar plant, one or more transmission generation tie lines
are being planned to connect the generated power to the regional electric power transmission
grid.

A Large Generator Interconnect Application (LGIA) and associated California Independent System
Operator (CAISO) applications have been submitted and are being processed to determine final
interconnection requirements, required upgrades, and locations."

Proposed Interconnection Locations and required Generation Tie Lines:
1. Interconnection at the LADWP Barren Ridge Substation-- This interconnect option is just
west of Highway 14 and approximately four miles west of the project site.
Interconnection at this location would require two parallel transmission lines
approximately four-miles long of 230 kV double-circuit construction on tubular-steel
poles. The structures on each line would be spaced between 600 and 1000 feet apart and
would range from 110 to 130 feet tall. The two parallel transmission lines would be
approximately 75 feet apart.
2. Interconnection at the proposed AV Clearview 345 kV Transmission Line--This
interconnect option is approximately 18 miles south of the project site, at its proposed
Yeager Substation, which is located at Rosamond Boulevard and Highway 58, 5 miles west
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of North Edwards. Interconnection at this location would require approximately 25 miles
of 345 kV single-circuit construction on tubular-steel poles. These structures would be
spaced between 600 and 1,000 feet apart and would range from 150 to 170 feet tall.
3. Interconnection at the SCE Windhub Substation-- This interconnect option is six miles
west of Mojave and approximately 22 miles southwest of the Project site.
Interconnection at this location would require two parallel transmission lines
approximately 30-miles long of 230 kV double-circuit construction on tubular-steel poles.
The structures on each line would be spaced between 600 and 1,000 feet apart and would
range from 110 to 130 feet tall. The two parallel transmission lines would be
approximately 75 feet apart.
4. Interconnection at the SCE Randsburg Substation-- This interconnect option is near
Randsburg and approximately 20 miles northwest of the project site. Interconnection at
this location would require two parallel transmission lines approximately 30-miles long of
230 kV double-circuit construction on tubular-steel poles. The structures on each line
would be spaced between 600 and 1,000 feet apart and would range from 110 to 130 feet
tall. The two parallel transmission lines would be approximately 75 feet apart.
Additionally, interconnection could occur from California City, northeasterly along the 20
Mule Team Parkway to intersect with the transmission lines along US 395 north to
Randsburg. Interconnection at this location would require two parallel transmission lines
approximately 35-miles long of 230-kV double-circuit construction on tubular-steel poles.
The structures on each line would be spaced between 600 and 1000 feet apart and would
range from 110 to 130 feet tall. The two parallel transmission lines would be
approximately 75 feet apart.

5. Interconnection at the SCE Kramer Substation-- This interconnect option is 5 miles east of
Boron and approximately 30 miles southeast of the project site. Interconnection at this
location would require two parallel transmission lines approximately 40-miles long of 230
kV double-circuit construction on tubular-steel poles. The structures on each line would
be spaced between 600 and 1,000 feet apart and would range from 110 to 130 feet tall.
The two parallel transmission lines would be approximately 75 feet apart.
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Construction Activities
Approximately 100-600 daily workers will be present on-site during construction over a three-
year period. Workers will gain access to the site using existing county and farm roads. Temporary
facilities for use during construction of the facility include:
(1) Four covered assembly areas (80,000 square feet each, 16 feet tall) for panel, racking
and pump assembly.
(2) Two temporary concrete batch plants for pouring concrete pads.
(3) Field project management facilities.
Water Usage
Water for construction use will be pumped from existing Project wells. The water usage for
construction is estimated to be approximately 2.0 acre feet per day, over the three year
construction period.

Equipment utilized during project construction:
Construction Activity Equipment
Demolition/Site Prep Backhoe/Loader
Dozers
Front End Loaders
Concrete/Industrial Saws
Dump Trucks

Grading Dozers
Motor Graders
Front End Loaders
Scrapers
Compaction Rollers
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