1 9.4 RIVERSIDE EAST 2 3 4 9.4.1 Background and Summary of Impacts 5 6 7 9.4.1.1 General Information 8 9 The proposed Riverside East SEZ is the largest of the proposed SEZs in the six-state 10 study area, with a total area of 202,896 acres (821 km2). The SEZ spans a distance of about 11 45 mi (72 km) between the points farthest west and east, but it has an irregular shape with a large 12 excluded central area (see Figure 9.4.1.1-1). The eastern boundary of the site is about 6 mi 13 (10 km) west of the Arizona border. The western boundary abuts and surrounds a portion of 14 Joshua Tree National Park. The nearest towns with populations greater than 10,000 are Blythe, 15 located about 6 mi (10 km) southeast of the SEZ with a 2008 population of 21,727; and Indio, 16 located about 45 mi (72 km) west of the SEZ on I-10, with a 2008 population of 84,443. The 17 small town of Desert Center (2000 population of 150) is located at the far southwestern edge of 18 the SEZ, along I-10. 19 20 The SEZ is located in Riverside County in southeastern California. In 2008, the county 21 population was 84,443. The closest large cities are Moreno Valley, San Bernardino, and 22 Riverside (all located slightly more than 100 mi [161 km] west of the SEZ on I-10. The Interstate 23 runs east–west along the southern boundary of the SEZ. Other paved roads that cross parts of the 24 Riverside East SEZ include State Route 177, which runs north–south through the western section 25 of the SEZ, and Midland Road, which crosses the northeastern portion of the SEZ. U.S. 95 runs 26 north–south about 3 mi (5 km) from the eastern boundary of the SEZ and through the town of 27 Blythe. 28 29 The nearest operating railroad is the Arizona and California (ARZC) Railroad, which 30 passes through Rice, about 18 mi (29 km) north of the large eastern section of the proposed 31 Riverside East SEZ. The ARZC is a regional short line; the rail stop at Vidal is about a 41 mi 32 (66 km) drive from the SEZ via U.S. 95. Eight small airports open to the public are within a 33 driving distance of approximately 72 mi (116 km) of the SEZ. 34 35 An existing 500-kV transmission line runs east–west along I-10 and parallel to the 36 southern SEZ boundary. It is assumed that the existing 500-kV transmission line could 37 potentially provide access from the SEZ to the transmission grid (see Section 9.4.1.2). In 38 addition, a 230-kV line passes through the far western section of the SEZ, and a 69-kV line 39 passes through the eastern portion of the SEZ, along with other transmission lines (see 40 Section 9.4.2). 41 42 As of February 2010, a total of 15 solar project applications were pending in the SEZ. 43 The combined areas of these applications cover about 132,000 acres (534 km2), about 65% of the 44 SEZ area (see Figure 9.4.1.1-1). Of these active pending applications within the SEZ, three are 45 fast-track applications for parabolic trough facilities and one is a fast-track application for a PV 46 facility. The combined capacity for these four facilities, when built, would be about 2,300 MW. Draft Solar PEIS 9.4-1 December 2010 1 2 FIGURE 9.4.1.1-1 Proposed Riverside East SEZ Draft Solar PEIS 9.4-2 December 2010 1 The proposed Riverside East SEZ and other relevant information are shown in 2 Figure 9.4.1.1-1. The criteria used to identify the SEZ as an appropriate location for solar 3 development included proximity to existing transmission lines or designated corridors, proximity 4 to existing roads, a slope of generally less than 2%, and an area of more than 2,500 acres 5 (10 km2). In addition, the area was identified as being free of other types of conflicts, such as 6 USFWS-designated critical habitat for threatened and endangered species, ACECs, SRMAs, and 7 NLCS lands (see Section 2.2.2.2 for the complete list of exclusions). Although these classes of 8 restricted lands were excluded from the proposed Riverside East SEZ, other restrictions might be 9 appropriate. The analyses in the following sections address the affected environment and 10 potential impacts associated with utility-scale solar energy development in the proposed SEZ for 11 important environmental, cultural, and socioeconomic resources. 12 13 As initially announced in the Federal Register on June 30, 2009, the proposed Riverside 14 East SEZ encompassed 202,295 acres (819 km2). Subsequent to the study area scoping period, 15 the Riverside East boundaries were altered somewhat to facilitate the BLM’s administration of 16 the SEZ area. Borders with irregularly shaped boundaries were adjusted to match the section 17 boundaries of the PLSS (BLM and USFS 2010). Some small higher slope areas at the borders of 18 the site were also added to the SEZ, but these higher slope areas would not likely be utilized for 19 solar facilities. The revised SEZ is approximately 600 acres (2.4 km2) larger than the original 20 SEZ as published in June 2009. 21 22 23 9.4.1.2 Development Assumptions for the Impact Analysis 24 25 Maximum development of the proposed Riverside East SEZ was assumed to be 80% of 26 the total SEZ area over a period of 20 years, a maximum of 162,317 acres (657 km2). These 27 values are shown in Table 9.4.1.2-1, along with other development assumptions. Full 28 development of the Riverside East SEZ would allow development of facilities with an estimated 29 total of 18,035 MW of electrical power capacity if power tower, dish engine, or PV technologies 30 were used, assuming 9 acres/MW (0.04 km2/MW) of land required, and an estimated 31 32,463 MW of power if solar trough technologies were used, assuming 5 acres/MW 32 (0.02 km2/MW) of land required. 33 34 Availability of transmission from SEZs to load centers will be an important consideration 35 for future development in SEZs. The nearest existing transmission line is a 500-kV line that runs 36 through the SEZ. It is possible that this existing line could be used to provide access from the 37 SEZ to the transmission grid, but the 500-kV capacity of that line would be inadequate for 38 18,035 to 32,463 MW of new capacity (note that a 500-kV line can accommodate approximately 39 the load of one 700 MW facility). At full build-out capacity, it is clear that substantial new 40 transmission and/or upgrades of existing transmission lines would be required to bring electricity 41 from the proposed Riverside East SEZ to load centers; however, at this time the location and size 42 of such new transmission facilities are unknown. Generic impacts of transmission and associated 43 infrastructure construction and of line upgrades for various resources are discussed in Chapter 5. 44 Project-specific analyses would need to identify the specific impacts of new transmission 45 construction and line upgrades for any projects proposed within the SEZ. 46 Draft Solar PEIS 9.4-3 December 2010 TABLE 9.4.1.2-1 Proposed Riverside East Development Acreages, Maximum Solar Megawatt Output, Access Roads, and Transmission Line ROWs Assumed Assumed Maximum Distance to Distance and Area of Distance to Total Acreage and SEZ Output Nearest State, Capacity of Transmission Nearest Assumed for Various U.S. or Nearest Existing Line ROW Designated Developed Acreage Solar Interstate Transmission and Road Transmission (80% of Total) Technologies Highway Line ROW Corridord 202,896 acres and 18,035 MWb Adjacent Adjacent to SEZ, 0 acres and Adjacent to 162,317 acresa 32,463 MWc (I-10) and 500 kV 0 acres SEZe a To convert acres to km2, multiply by 0.004047. b Maximum power output if the SEZ were fully developed using power tower, dish engine, or PV technologies, assuming 9 acres/MW (0.04 km2/MW) of land required. c Maximum power output if the SEZ were fully developed using solar trough technologies, assuming 5 acres/MW (0.02 km2/MW) of land required. d BLM-designated corridors are developed for federal land use planning purposes only and are not applicable to state-owned or privately owned land. e A Section 368 federally designated 2-mi (3-km) wide energy corridor runs adjacent to the south boundary of the SEZ. 1 2 3 For the purposes of analysis in this PEIS, it was assumed that the existing 500-kV 4 transmission line that runs east–west along I-10 and parallel to the southern SEZ boundary could 5 provide access to the transmission grid, and thus no additional acreage disturbance for 6 transmission line access was assessed. In addition, a 230-kV line passes through the far western 7 section of the SEZ, and a 69-kV line passes through the eastern portion of the SEZ. Access to the 8 existing transmission lines was assumed, without additional information on whether these lines 9 would be available for connection of future solar facilities. If a connecting transmission line were 10 constructed in the future to a different off-site grid location from the one assumed here, 11 site developers would need to determine the impacts from construction and operation of that line.