This notice is to advise that the County of Riverside, as lead agency, has completed a Notice of Preparation (NOP) for an Environmental Impact Report (EIR), State Clearinghouse No. 2023050303 for Conditional Use Permit No. 220035 (CUP220035), Public Use Permit No. 220002, and Development Agreement No. 2200018; Sapphire Solar project as described below.

The County is conducting a 30-day comment period from May 12, 2023, to June 12, 2023. All written comments must be received in writing by June 12, 2023, by 5:00 p.m. (end of the 30-day public review period). Please send all comments via mail to Riverside County Planning Department, Attention: Tim Wheeler, 4080 Lemon Street, 12th Floor, Riverside, CA 92501 OR via email to twheeler@rivco.org.

The Sapphire Solar Project (Project) is located in Riverside County (County), approximately 5 miles north of Desert Center, approximately 40 miles west of the City of Blythe, and 3.5 miles north of Interstate 10. The Project consists of approximately 1,082 acres on private lands consisting of a solar site and battery storage. The Project also includes up to three “Linear Facilities Routes” including: two options for a 230-kilovolt (kV) generation tie (gen-tie) line alignment (only one of which would be constructed), two access roads, and a collector line. The Linear Facilities Routes, totaling 110 acres would be located on land administered by the United States Department of Interior, Bureau of Land Management (BLM). The Project solar site is bounded on the north, east, and west sides by BLM lands and to the south by Belsby Avenue. Melon Street runs along the west side of the Project boundary and Jojoba Street on the east. The east side of the Project site is located adjacent to California State Route 177/Rice Road. Refer to Figure 1 for the Project location and surrounding vicinity.

Two County roads intersect the interior of the Project site from east to west: Investor Avenue and Osborne Avenue. The portion of Osborne Avenue that intersects the Project site is approximately 0.6 miles long. Osborne Avenue is identified by the County as a road “accepted for public use” by the County. The portion of Investor Avenue that intersects the Project site is approximately 1 mile long. Investor Avenue is identified by the County as a road “accepted for public use.”

One County road intersects the interior of the Project site from north to south: Melon Street. The portion of Melon Street that intersects the Project site is approximately 0.5 miles long. Melon Street is identified by the County as a road “accepted for public use”. The portions of Osborne Avenue, Investor Avenue, and Melon Street that intersect the Project site would be removed from public use.

The Project would interconnect to the electrical grid by running its gen-tie west of the Project solar site along one of the Linear Facility Routes over BLM-administered federal public lands to intertie via line tap onto the existing Desert Harvest solar project gen-tie line that follows Kaiser Road and connects into the larger electrical grid at the Southern California Edison (SCE) 230-kV Red Bluff Substation. An access road would be constructed west of the Project solar site to Kaiser Road along the same route as the gen-tie to serve a dual purpose as the main site access road and the maintenance road for the gen-tie. An additional access road for emergency services would be constructed from either Kaiser Road or California State Route 177/Rice Road to the Project site to meet Riverside County Fire Department Technical Policy #TP 15-002.

The Assessor’s Parcel Numbers on which the Project is located are listed on the attached sheet titled “Assessor’s Parcels for Project Site CUP 220035 Sapphire Solar Project.”

PROJECT DESCRIPTION: EDF Renewables Development Inc. (EDFR) on behalf of Sapphire Solar, LLC (“Applicant”) proposes to entitle, construct, operate, maintain, and decommission the Project. The Project would include a utility-scale solar photovoltaic (PV) electrical generating and storage facility and associated infrastructure to generate and deliver renewable electricity to the statewide electricity transmission grid.

The proposed Project would generate and store up to 117 megawatts (MW) of renewable electricity via arrays of solar PV panels, battery energy storage system (BESS), and appurtenant facilities.

As previously stated, the Project would include a 230-kV gen-tie line, access roads, and collector line routes, collectively referred to as “Linear Facility Routes.” The Linear Facility Routes are located on federal public lands administered by BLM and designed to support the proposed Project, which is located on adjacent private lands. Each of the three 200-foot wide Linear Facility Routes has been included to provide flexibility as it relates to potential California Independent System Operator (CAISO) interconnection options and County Fire Department emergency access requirements. Refer to Figures 1 through 3 for locations of the three Linear Facility Routes. The locations and lengths of the three potential Linear Facility Routes are as follows: Linear Facility Route #1 is approximately 1.6 miles long and located along the top northwest corner of the Project site, Linear Facility Route #2 is approximately 1.6 miles long and located toward the northwest corner of the Project site (south of Linear Facility Route #1), and Linear Facility Route #3 is approximately 1.4 miles long and located along the east side of the Project site.

The Project is anticipated to be online in late 2025. The Applicant is seeking a minimum 39-year Conditional Use Permit (CUP) (CUP 220035) for the construction, operation, and decommissioning of the proposed solar facility, as well as a Public Use Permit (PUP) (PUP 220002) for portions of the Project that would traverse County Roads (State Route 177/Rice Road or Kaiser Road). The Applicant is also seeking cancellation of Williamson Act contracts within the Project site, which will be considered as part of the Project’s permitting process. The Applicant is also seeking to vacate roadways dedicated to the public but not accepted by the County that traverse the internal portions of the Project. Roads along the Project perimeter on the outside of the solar facility would remain dedicated public access as applicable. Ancillary permits, including encroachment permits, grading and construction permits, and certificates of occupancy, are anticipated from the County. These permits and approvals are local ministerial actions that will follow California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) compliance.

PROJECT LOCATION:  Northeast of Highway 177/Orion Road and north of Oasis Road, east of Kaiser Road, south of Beekley Road.