DOE/EIS–0458D DRAFT ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT STATEMENT VOLUME I DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY LOAN GUARANTEE TO ROYAL BANK OF SCOTLAND FOR CONSTRUCTION AND STARTUP OF THE TOPAZ SOLAR FARM SAN LUIS OBISPO COUNTY, CALIFORNIA US Department of Energy, Lead Agency Loan Guarantee Program Office Washington, DC 20585 In Cooperation with US Army Corps of Engineers San Francisco District March 2011 COVER SHEET Lead Federal Agency: US Department of Energy Cooperating Agency: US Army Corps of Engineers Title: Draft Environmental Impact Statement for the US Department of Energy Loan Guarantee to Royal Bank of Scotland for Construction and Startup of the Topaz Solar Farm, San Luis Obispo County, California Contact: For additional copies or more information on this Draft Environmental Impact Statement (EIS), please contact: Ms. Angela Colamaria US Department of Energy Loan Programs Office (LP-10) 1000 Independence Avenue, SW Washington, DC 20585 Phone: 202-287-5387 Electronic mail:
[email protected] Abstract: The US Department of Energy is proposing to issue a loan guarantee to Royal Bank of Scotland to provide funding to Topaz Solar Farms, Limited Liability Corporation (LLC) to construct and start up the Topaz Solar Farm, a nominal 550-megawatt photovoltaic solar energy generating facility. The facility would be located in unincorporated eastern San Luis Obispo County, California, approximately one mile north of the community of California Valley and six miles northwest of the Carrizo Plain National Monument. The proposed facility would consist of a solar field of ground-mounted PV modules, an electrical collection system that converts generated power from direct current to alternating current and delivers it to a Project substation for collection and conversion from 34.5 to 230 kV for delivery via a new on-site Pacific Gas and Electric (PG&E) switching station, and the PG&E switching station that interconnects the Project to PG&E’s existing Morro Bay to Midway 230-kV transmission line.