From: Megan Lawson To: Gungle, Ashley Cc: Hingtgen, Robert J; Patrick BROWN ([email protected]) ([email protected]) Subject: RE: Soitech follow up Date: Friday, October 04, 2013 2:34:46 PM Attachments: image001.png CA_CREZ_Conceptual_Transmission_Segments_Phase_2B_final.pdf

Ashley,

Here is our response to Mr. Silver's e-mail:

Mr. Silver references “Competitive Renewable Energy Zones” (CREZs), which were part of the California Energy Commission’s (CEC) “Renewable Energy Transmission Initiative” (RETI) between 2008 and 2011. From what we can tell, the CEC’s RETI process appears to have stalled in early 2011, and now appears to have been set aside by the Desert Renewable Energy Conservation Plan (DRECP) process. http://www.energy.ca.gov/reti/. As you know, we do not need to address the DRECP in the PEIR because the project areas are located entirely outside of the DRECP area.

For the County’s reference, the RETI process identified necessary major updates to the California transmission system to access CREZs. The process identified CREZs that could be developed in the most cost effective and environmentally benign manner. Potential renewable energy projects were grouped into CREZs based on geographic proximity. The CREZ implicated in southern San Diego County is CREZ 27, San Diego South. Each CREZ was developed based on existing and proposed projects (e.g., those projects with a PPA, or PPA pending) and other projects or resources with a high potential of being developed. Because the Soitec projects were not yet proposed at the time of CREZ development (2008- 2010), Soitec’s projects were not accounted for in the CREZ, nor does CREZ 27 account for areas of high solar potential or the most cost-effective or environmentally-benign sites for future solar development.

Contrary to Mr. Silver’s suggestion, whether Soitec’s projects are in a CREZ or not does not “provide a presumption, at least, as to whether the project is appropriate sited or whether the presumption is in favor of an alternative site (that might not be pristine habitat in the East County MSCP preserve planning area).” The results of the RETI process were designed to pinpoint transmission projects that should be developed to connect renewable energy resources located in remote locations to the transmission grid, in order to ensure proposed projects could come online and help meet the state’s 33% RPS goal. To that end, the economic and environmental implications of proposed renewable energy projects and necessary transmission corridors was taken into account in ranking proposed conceptual transmission segments. RETI did not broadly evaluate areas outside of proposed project sites and potential sites, like federal energy lease areas, to determine their value for future renewable energy development, such as other areas’ proximity to transmission, energy resource potential, or environmental sensitivity.

Nevertheless, Soitec’s proposed projects are complimentary to RETI’s CREZ and conceptual transmission corridors for southern San Diego, as Soitec’s project areas are located partially within CREZs, as Dudek’s mapping shows, and are proximate to existing transmission. Furthermore, due to the careful siting of Soitec’s projects, even when they are not fully located within a CREZ they are nevertheless environmentally benign, as they are not located within any identified sensitive environmental areas, such as those delineated on the CREZ maps as areas of critical environmental concern, potential desert wilderness, citizen’s wilderness inventory, Mohave ground squire range or core population, sensitive cultural resource areas, wildlife linkages, proposed desert protection, proposed national monument, or wildlands conservancy.

Map of CREZ’s compared to Soitec project areas. Green = CREZ 2A; Blue = CREZ 2B

Attached is the CREZ map from Phase 2B which shows sensitive environmental areas.

Please let us know if you have any additional questions.

Thanks, Megan

Megan Lawson, LEED AP ND 760.479.4243

-----Original Message----- From: Gungle, Ashley [mailto:[email protected]] Sent: Wednesday, October 02, 2013 8:30 AM To: Megan Lawson Cc: Hingtgen, Robert J Subject: FW: Soitech follow up

Hi Megan,

Dan Silver with the Endangered Habitat League (EHL) provided us with the following information on CREZ zones. Do you have any information on CREZ zone and whether they are applicable to San Diego? If not, can you please research this and determine if it is something we need to address further?

Thanks,

Ashley

-----Original Message----- From: Dan Silver [mailto:[email protected]] Sent: Tuesday, October 01, 2013 12:46 PM To: Fogg, Mindy; Hingtgen, Robert J; Gungle, Ashley Subject: Soitech follow up

Dear Mindy, Robert, and Ashley

Thank you again for your time.

After talking to an expert on distributed energy, I am more fully cognizant of the complexities in terms of energy policy and economics. The goal for everyone would be, of course, to have a systematic approach in place rather than a piecemeal, project-by-project process. To that end, I understand that the State has done some prioritization work, identifying locations with good economics for renewable energy but also with lower environmental cost. These are called CREZ zones. If these zones are in place in San Diego, it might provide a presumption, at least, as to whether the project is appropriate sited or whether the presumption is in favor of an alternative site (that might not be pristine habitat in the East County MSCP preserve planning area). I'm not sure the links I was able to quickly locate are of much value, but I provide them for your reference, and maybe the applicant can shed more light.

With best regards Dan

http://www.energy.ca.gov/reti/ http://www.nationalwind.org/assets/blog/AnneGillette.pdf http://www.energy.ca.gov/reti/documents/phase2B/Southern%20CA_CREZ_Conceptual_Transmission_Segments_New_and_Existing_Corridors.pdf

Dan Silver, Executive Director Endangered Habitats League 8424 Santa Monica Blvd., Suite A 592 Los Angeles, CA 90069-4267

213-804-2750 [email protected] www.ehleague.org

78

Goose Lake

151 111

Lava Beds Nat'l Monument

CREZ 3A Round Mountain A Redwoo d National Park

179

NEO_COLL_1

89 299

165

88 6

Trinity Hillcrest Wind Power 56 97 Lake Project 1 113 119 CREZ 2 Lassen North 126

8 299 299 Lake CREZ 3B 69 Shasta 53 Round Mountain B

Eagle Lake

162

35 Lassen Volcanic 67 National Park 18 178 Olinda OLND_DILL_1 161 100 105 89 Lake Renewable Energy Transmission Initiative (RETI) 142 Almanor 62 Honey Lake Phase 2B Maps CREZ 1A Lassen South A

47 California 138 Proposed Competitive Renewable Energy Zones, 58 156 2010 Proposed California Desert Protection Act 55 49 1 89 & Conceptual Transmission Segments Lake Oroville - New and Existing Corridors OLND_DILL_1 Corrected 7/1/2010

99 Prepared by the California Energy Commission Cartography Unit for the RETI Stakeholders Cartographers - Jacque Gilbreath, Terry Rose & Michael Snyder 46 72 52 Lake 96 Clear 49 Lake Tahoe

14 89 158 118 19

NEO_COLL_1

86 Folsom Lake 127 157 89 Lake Berryessa 26 117 154 25

Dillard Road 74 99 Rancho Seco Solar Thermal 49

1 75 CREZ 8 40 Solano SMUD Solar 73 166 17 Phase III Camanche Collinsville Reservoir Montezuma Hills San Pablo COLL_PITT_1 37 Bay Wind Project COLL_PITT_2

Pittsburg Mono Point Reyes Lake Delta New National Seashore Melones 115 LIVR_DELT_1 Yosem it e COLL_TRCY2_1 DILL_TRCY2_1 Lake National Park 120

TRCY2_ALPH4_1 Tracy TRCY2_ALPH4_2 136 Tracy 2 120 137 120 New Don Pedro Reservoir Alpha 4 ALPH4_PARK_1 San Tesla 99 ALPH4_PARK_2 Francisco Bay Livermore Stanislaus Solar Parker Project 2 Lake 7 TESL_NEWK_1 McClure TRCY2_LIVR_1 ALPH4_ALPH1_1 101 94 ALPH4_ALPH1_2 Alpha 1 57

Newark GREG_ALPH4_1 GREG_ALPH4_2 Stanislaus Solar 176 Project 1 Death Control Valley WLD

1

42

San Luis Reservoir

Panoche Ranch Gregg Solar Farm Fresno

Kings Canyon 84 144 Panoche Ranch Seq uo ia National Park Solar Farm CREZ 25 59 122 Lone Pine Owens Valley 190 BLM Area of Critical Environmental Concern 27 Reference Table 99 Death Valley National Park Afton Canyon 1 Ivanpah DWMA 76 Cottonwood Alkali Sinks 2 Jawbone/Butterbredt 77 23 Alligator Rock 3 Jenny Creek 78

34 MIDW_GREG_2 MIDW_GREG_1 Amargosa River 4 Joaquin Rocks 79 Death Valley Amboy Crater 5 Johnson Canyon 80 79 WLD Ash Valley 6 Juniper Flats 81 16 Bagby Serpentine 7 Kelso Creek Monkeyflower 82 CREZ 55 San Joaquin Solar 1 & 2 Westlands Baker Cypress 8 Kettleman Hills 83 08-AFC-12 Death 170 Valley 178 Barstow Woolly Sunflower 9 Keynot Peak 84 Project Withdrawn 141 160 WLD Bedrock Spring 10 Kingston Range 85 Gates Death Bendires Thrasher 11 Knoxville 86 Valley WLD Big Morongo Canyon 12 Kuchamaa 87 83 Bigelow Cholla 13 Naval Air Lacks Creek 88 60 Weapons Station Black Forest 14 Lake Cahuilla - A 89 1 Sun City Project China Lake Black Mountain 15 Lake Cahuilla - B 90 Phase 2 Great Falls 64 85 Blue Ridge 16 Lake Cahuilla - C 91 Basin WLD Bodie Bowl 17 Lake Cahuilla - D 92 4 147 Butte Creek 18 Last Chance Canyon 93 103 164 CREZ 51 Ridgecrest SPP Cache Creek Corridor 19 Limestone Salamander 94 Inyokern CACA 049016 Death Valley WLD Primm Calico Early Man Site 20 Lokern 95 152 Inyokern 09-AFC-9 Ivanpah SEGS CACA 048668 Carbonate Endemic Plants 21 Lost Valley 96 CREZ 14 145 127 Kingston GATE_MBAY_1 07-AFC-5 Carizzo Plain 22 Manila Dunes 97 Carrizo North 48 Range WLD 167 Case Mountain 23 Manix 98 Avawatz 150 44 Spangler Mountains 76 63 Mountain Pass MTPS1_ELDO_1 131 Hills WLD CREZ 40 Cedar Canyon 24 Marble Mountain Fossil Bed 99 CREZ 18 Naval Air NOHV 30 Weapons Station CREZ 41 Mountain Pass Cedar Roughs 25 Mattole Beach 100 Carrizo South 15 112 82 China Lake San Bernardino Golden Fort Irwin Cedars 26 Merced River 101 10 Baker 93 Valley National 65 WLD Training Center Cerro Gordo 27 Mesquite Hills/Crucero 102 77 29 Midway 173 Chemehuevi DWMA 28 Mesquite Lake 103 Carrizo MIDW_CARZ_1 Beacon Solar Morro Bay 143 58 139 MTPS1_BAKR1_1 Chico Martinez 29 Middle Knob 104 95 Energy Project 08-AFC-2 Baker Christmas Canyon 30 Mill Creek 105 MIDW_WRLW_1 MIDW_KRAM_1 CREZ 52 174 MIDW_KRAM_2 Tehachapi Chuckwalla DWMA 31 Million Dollar Spring 106 Barren Ridge Soda Chuckwalla Valley Dune Thicket 32 Mojave Fishhook Cactus 107 50 Mountains Mo ja ve 99 WLD National Preserve Clark Mountain 33 Mojave Fringe-toed Lizard 108 CREZ 17 58 172 43 Clear Creek Serpentine 34 Mojave Monkeyflower 109 Cuyama 68 104 15 CREZ 45 Rasor Clear Creek/Sacramento River Island 9 35 Mopah Spring 110 2 38 159 Barstow NOHV Coachella Valley Fringe-toed Lizard 22 45 36 Mount Dome 111 CREZ 50 1 102 Conway Summit Maricopa Sun Windhub Kramer 135 123 37 Mountain Pass Dinosaur Trackway 112 66 Harper Lake 130 Solar Complex Project Kramer 98 Desert Trails Coolgardie Mesa 38 Mountain Peaks 113 KRAM_WHUB_1 BARS1_BAKR1_1 National Corn Springs 39 Mule Mountains 114 20 Monument Camino BARS1_KRAM_1 Cosumnes River 40 Nissenan Manzanita 115 Abengoa Mojave Solar 58 09-AFC-5 Barstow CREZ 43A Coyote Mountains Fossil Site 41 North Algodones Dunes 116 133 PISG_BARS1_1 Pisgah - A KRAM_LUGO_1 BRNR_HASC_1 61 Desert Trails Crater Mountain 42 North Fork Cosumnes River 117 Castaic BRNR_HASC_2 109 Pisgah WHUB_ANTE_1 National Cronese Basin 129 43 Northern California Chapparral 118 Whirlwind Palmdale Hybrid East Edison Junction Monument Power Project AES Dagget Ridge Cypress Mountain 44 Old Growth Juniper 119 Stoddard CREZ 46 120 107 Valley NOHV CACA 049575 1 08-AFC-9 Victorville SCEJ_PISG_1 Dead Mountains 45 Ord-Rodman DWMA 120 SCEJ_PISG_2 Shasta and Klamath Rivers Canyon 151 140 Deadmans Flat 46 Palen Dry Lake 121 CREZ 44 Short Canyon 152 Antelope El Mirage Calico Stirling 1 Deer Creek 47 Panoche/Coalinga 122 NOHV San Bernardino CACA 049537 Antelope Valley VINC_ANTE_1 Lucerne 28 Singer Geoglyphs 153 VINC_ANTE_2 BARS1_LUGO_1 CACA 049539 Denning Springs 48 Parish's Phacelia 123 Solar Ranch One WRLW_VINC_1 CAST_HASC_2 11 5 99 Desert Lily Preserve Slinkard Valley 154 Johnson 49 Patton's Iron Mountain Divisional Camp 124 Victorville Soggy Dry Lake Creosote Rings 155 PISG_MIRA_1 169 Valley NOHV Desert Tortoise Natural Area 50 Pilot Knob 125 CREZ 47 PISG_LUCV_1 Fairmont South Fork Eel River 156 Vincent Granite Wind, LLC Marine Corps Air Ground Dos Palmas 51 Pine Dunes 126 PRDE_VINC_2 Spivey Pond 157 14 Sierra Renewables Combat Center Dutch Flat/Indian Hill RNA 52 Pine Hill 127 CACA 048254 155 Twentynine Palms Stornetta 158 Eagle Lake Basin 53 Pinto Mountains DWMA 128 CREZ 16 Pardee Haskell Canyon Lucerne Valley 1 Lugo 110 175 East Mesa Superior-Cronese DWMA 159 Santa Barbara 21 54 Pisgah 129 RIOH_VINC_2 CREZ 37 168 VINC_MIRA_1 Elder Creek 55 Piute Cypress 131 Surprise Canyon 160 HASC_RNLD_1 LUCV_LUGO_1 Iron Mountain Emigrant Trails 56 Piute-Fenner DWMA 130 Susan River 161 Swasey Drive 162 Lucerne Solar Fish Slough 57 Plank Road 132 MESA_VINC_2 Chevron Energy Solutions Iron Mountain Gould Forks of Butte Creek 58 Point Sal 133 Table Mountain 163 Rinaldi CACA 049561 Tierra Redonda 164 Fort Ord Public Lands 59 Potrero 134 GULD_EGLR_1 108 124 62 Fossil Falls 60 Rainbow Basin/Owl Canyon 135 Timbered Crater WSA 165 CREZ 38 Travertine Hot Springs 166 Eagle Rock 148 Sand to Snow 62 Twentynine Palms Fremont-Kramer DWMA 61 Red Hills 136 Rio Hondo Nat'l Monument 128 Trona Pinnacles 167 CHNO_MIRA_1 DEVR_MIRA_1 Gilham Buttes 62 Red Hills Additions 137 CHNO_MIRA_2 DEVR_MIRA_2 12 Turtle Mountains 168 VINC_MIRA_1 CHNO_MIRA_3 DVR2_VICT_1 Goose Lake 63 Red Mountain 138 Mesa 177 Desert Sunlight Upper Johnson Valley Yucca Rings 169 Great Falls Basin 64 Red Mountain Spring 139 Mira Loma Devers II First Solar Chino Joshua Tree CACA 048649 Halloran Wash 65 Rodman Mountains Cultural Area 140 Warm Sulfur Springs 170 DVR2_CENT_1 West Mesa 171 Devers National Park Palen SPP Harper Dry Lake 66 Rose Spring 141 Century 1 134 CHCV_MIRG_1 CACA 049486 West Paradise 172 CHCV_MIRG_2 Eagle Mountain Blythe SPP Hawes Corner 67 Sacramento River/Bend Area 142 CREZ 32 36 09-AFC-7 Western Rand Mountain Expansion 173 Palm Springs CHCV_DVR2_1 49 CACA 048811 Horse Canyon 68 Salinas River 143 Mirage CREZ 36 09-AFC-6 Iaqua Buttes 69 Saline Valley 144 Western Rand Mountains 174 Desert Center Riverside East DEVR_VALL_2 111 Whipple Mountains 175 Valley DEVR_VALL_3 In-Ko-Pah Mountains 70 Salt Creek Hills 145 DESC_DEVR_1 3 MIDP_DESC_1 121 White Mountain City 176 DESC_DEVR_2 Indian Pass 71 San Sebastian Marsh/San Felipe Creek 146 Lee Lake 39 Whitewater Canyon 177 Ave. 58 Coachella Valley Indian Valley 72 Sand Canyon 147 Genesis SPP 32 Willow Creek 178 Ione Manzanita 73 Santa Ana River Wash 148 CACA 048880 114 Yankee Jim 179 Midpoint 78 Ione Manzanita Addition 74 Santa Margarita Ecological Reserve 149 AV58_CHCV_1 31 09-AFC-8 Ione Tertiary Oxisol Soil 75 Shadow Valley DWMA 150 Yuha Basin 180 51 Talega BANN_AV58_1 LELK_CMPL_1 BANN_CHCV_1 BANN_DEVR_1 149 106 Palo Verde WLD CMPL_TALG_1 RETI Competitive Renewable Land Use Utility Ownership Other Features CMPL_TALG_2 Camp Pendleton 80 Milpitas Wash Energy Zones (CREZ) Imperial Irrigation District Chocolate Mountains WLD California State Park Road Pendleton Salton Sea Aerial Gunnery Range MIDW_GEO_1 Buzzards CREZ Boundary Los Angeles Dept. of Water & Power 86 MIDW_GEO_2 CMPL_ECND_1 Geo Peak State Owned Land County Boundary CMPL_ECND_2 CREZ 26 WLD Proposed Wind Project PacifiCorp San Diego CREZ 31 A & B Midway North Central Imperial North Indian Pass WLD Bureau of Indian Affairs Dry Lake Bed Escondido A & B Proposed Solar Project Pacific Gas & Electric 146 Anza-Borrego Desert 71 Sacramento Municipality Utility District 78 Bannister BANN_ELCN_1 BANN_GEO_1 116 153 Bureau of Land Management Water Body State Park DIXL_BANN_1 Collector Line IMPV_BANN_1 BANN_GEO_2 San Diego Gas & Electric 78 CREZ 29 Biomass Project Department of Defense Disturbed Area 90 Imperial East Southern California Edison 171 89 Geothermal Project Private Land Western Area Power Administration BLM Solar Energy CREZ 27 El Centro Highline Study Zones San Diego South 41 Dixieland 54 All Others ELCN_HILN_1 125 BLM Lease Application Citizen's Wilderness Inventory ELCN_IMPV_2 Proposed National 70 ELCN_HILN_2 91 132 Iberdrola Tule Wind 92 Existing Transmission Lines CACA 049698 CREZ 30 Solar Monument 180 Imperial Valley Potential Desert Wilderness (Colorized according to Utility Ownership) Imperial South 163 Wind Proposed Desert Imperial Valley Stirling 2 110 kV - 161 kV 24 CACA 047740 Williamson Act Protection ECO NOTE: Williamson Act for 220 kV - 287 kV 87 08-AFC-5 RETI Transmission Segments Imperial,Orange, Kings, Inyo and San Benito Coutines not available WLD - Wilderness 345 kV - 500 kV New Right of Way The Wildlands Conservancy NOHV - National Off-Highway Vehicle Existing / Expand 345 kV - 500 kV DC Recreation Area Area of Critical Environmenal Concern ARRA Project Labels Substations Cultural Resource Constraints BLM Project Joint BLM-CEC Project Existing Mohave Ground Squirrel Historic U.S. Route 66 Core Population CEC Project Local Project Proposed Sensitive Area Mohave Ground Squirrel Range Prohibited, Restricted & Limited Lands Federal Energy Corridors Category I Lands - Energy Development Wildlife Linkage 368 Transmission Corridor Prohibited or Restricted by Policy South Coast Missing Linkages Bureau of Land Management 1:1,040,000 Category II Lands - Some Energy Development Energy Corridor Joshua Tree - Twentynine Palms Linkage May Be Possible With Significant Limitations 05 10 20 30 40 50 Miles

T:\Projects\CEC\RETI Renewable Interconnections\RETI Phase 2 Working Group\Phase 2B Maps FILENAME: CA CREZ Conceptual Transmission Segments Phase 2B.mxd