Project Information
Project Title: Perkins Renewable Energy Project
Sector: Renewable Energy Production
Type :Solar
Project Location Address: * *Street address 1:* (Street addresses will be established during preconstruction compliance.) *City:* El Centro *State:* California *County:* United States
Coordinates: * *Latitude:* -115.36546 *Longitude:* 33.04036
Project Sponsor Contact Information: * *Company Name/Agency:* Intersect Power *Project Sponsor:* Intersect Power *Street Address:* 9450 SW Gemini Drive PMB #68743, *City:* Beaverton *State:* Oregon *Zip:* 97008-7105 *POC Name:* Camille Wasinger *POC Title:* Environmental and Permitting Senior Director *POC Work Phone:* 3039096396 [4] *POC Email Address:* camille@intersectpower.com
Project Purpose: Intersect Power proposes to construct, operate, maintain, and decommission a 1,150 megawatt (MW) solar photovoltaic (PV) facility and battery energy storage system (BESS) on public lands administered by the U.S. Bureau of Land Management (BLM) and Bureau of Reclamation (BOR), as well as private lands. Construction would take place over two years from 2026 to 2027 and operate from 2028 through 2075. The Project’s primary goal is to contribute to the achievement of California’s renewable energy goals and create a vital new point of interconnection for renewable energy in the Imperial Valley. In addition to delivering clean power to ratepayers in California, the Project would minimize environmental impacts associated with solar energy development by siting the facility on relatively flat, contiguous lands with low-quality habitat and high solar insolation. The project is also sited on lands designated by the BLM as renewable energy “development focus areas” (DFAs) in the Desert Renewable Energy Conservation Plan (DRECP).
Project Description: The Project is located in Imperial County, approximately 37 miles southeast of the Salton Sea. Imperial County is located in southern California, in the southwestern portion of the Colorado Desert. The Project Area is located approximately 1.2 miles north of the U.S.–Mexico border, in a region characterized by undeveloped desert and agricultural uses. The Project site is triangular shaped and is bounded by Interstate 8 (I-8) to the north and State Route 98 (SR 98) to the south. Immediately west of the project area is vacant natural land with farmland located 2.5 miles west of the Project site. El Centro, California is approximately 20 miles to the west and Mexicali, Mexico is approximately 15 miles to the southwest. The All-American Canal runs directly south of the Project site, parallel with SR 98. The Project boundary includes 7,294.5 total acres of which approximately 6,021.2 acres would be developed as part of the solar facility (solar PV panels, inverters/transformers, substation, BESS, BAAH, and O&M building). A fenced area referred to as the “Project site” would contain the solar plant, BESS, Project interconnection generation tie (gen-tie) line, Project substation, and operations and maintenance (O&M) yard and facility. The Project would also include a high-voltage breaker-and-a-half switchyard (BAAH switchyard) and two 500 kilovolt (kV) loop-in transmission lines, each within a 200-foot-wide loop-in transmission corridor, that would be required to interconnect to the existing San Diego Gas and Electric (SDG&E) Southwest Power Link (SWPL) 500 kV transmission line that traverses east–west to the south of the Project site. Cultural Resources Historic records from the CHRIS South Central Coastal Information Center indicate that 114 cultural resources have been previously recorded within 1 mile of the Project area. These include 77 prehistoric resources, 36 historic period resources, and 1 resource of unknown age. Thirty-one resources are mapped within the Project area including 20 prehistoric resources and 11 historic period resources. Ninety-one resources are mapped within the architectural study area including 64 prehistoric resources, 26 historic period resources, and 1 resource of unknown age. Cultural resource surveys of the project site were completed in Spring 2024 and tribal consultation is ongoing. The BLM considers the project footprint within an area of moderate cultural resource sensitivity for historic and prehistoric resources. Environmental Resources The Project Application Area lies in the Colorado Desert of Imperial County, the largest and most arid subdivision of the Sonoran Desert and one of the hottest and most arid environments in the United States. The Project area is within the southern portion of a major physiographic and geologic features of the Colorado Desert and the Salton Trough. Sonoran creosote bush scrub is the dominant natural vegetation community within the project area. Desert dry wash woodland/microphyll woodland and alkali goldenbush desert scrub are found in thin strips near the central portion of the western Project site and in the southern portion of the transmission corridor. Arrow weed thickets and common reed marsh are located within the southern portion of the transmission corridor, along the edges of the All-American Canal. The original Project layout encompassed a larger area that has since been reduced to avoid the woodland areas. The approximately 52-acre woodland area that remains within the Project site boundaries near the solar PV would be avoided and left undisturbed by the Project design. Historic Resources The Project area and vicinity have historically been undeveloped desert land with power line easements developed in the western portion prior to 1954. A shallow clay mine/pit was reportedly located in the eastern portion of the Property. The Project is in an area that has been categorized as a resource procurement area for highly mobile desert groups and the more sedentary Colorado River populations. The Project area lies approximately one mile east of the prehistoric shoreline of Ancient Lake Cahuilla (UR Spatial 2015; Rockwell et al. 2022). Historic period resources consist of archaeological sites, structures, and isolated artifacts. Historic-era archaeological sites include debris scatters, road remnants, machinery remnants, and concrete and cobble masonry structures. The historic period object is a General Lands Office (GLO) survey marker. Historic period structures include the AAC, road segments, and transmission line corridors. Finally, isolates dating to the historic period consist of single or small numbers of metal cans, bottles and bottle fragments, a glass insulator, a metal license plate, a metal pail, and miscellaneous debris.
Technical and Financial Ability: IP Perkins, LLC and IP Perkins BAAH, LLC are subsidiaries of Intersect Power, LLC. Founded in 2016, Intersect Power is a fully integrated clean infrastructure platform that develops and owns some of the world’s largest renewable energy resources across multiple technologies and power markets. Intersect provides low-carbon electricity, fuels, and related products to customers across North America, enabling new pathways between clean electricity and the broader economy. Intersect has a portfolio of 2.2 GWp of solar PV + 1.4 GWh of battery storage, all of which were under construction by Q2 2022 and operational by 2023. Intersect also has an emerging pipeline of 8.5 GWp+ of renewable generation, 8 GWh+ of energy storage and 600 MW+ of green hydrogen production. The Intersect team has shared experience in delivering over 6 GWp across more than 70 high-quality projects over the past decade. In the past ~2 years, Intersect has closed over $5B in project financings and raised more than $1B in corporate equity, which includes backing from TPG Rise Climate, Climate Adaptive Infrastructure, and Trilantic North America. In early 2023, Intersect secured up to $800 million in corporate debt from a consortium of global project finance and corporate investment bank lenders to support its development pipeline and expansion of its clean energy platform. The team's functional expertise spans all relevant disciplines including site acquisition, permitting, interconnection, origination, engineering, procurement, construction, and finance. Intersect Power’s team includes real estate, entitlement, and NEPA expertise for energy infrastructure projects sited on federal land. The Intersect Power team has successfully completed NEPA and obtained long-term ROW grants for four solar PV + battery storage projects sited wholly or in part on BLM managed lands in California. Most recently, in January 2022, Intersect Power received a ROW grant for the Oberon Renewable Energy Project, a 500 MWac solar PV + battery storage facility sited entirely on BLM lands in Riverside County, California. The Project started construction in June 2022 and reached operation in November 2023.
Summary of Financing, Reviews and Authorizations: Federal Authorizations For the construction and operation of the Project on BLM and BOR lands, Intersect Power is seeking federal Right of Way (ROW) authorization from the BLM. BOR will either issue their own authorization or the ROW for BLM will serve as authorization for both agencies. The BOR will, however, issue a separate ROW for the 500 kV loop-in transmission lines crossing the BOR-operated American canal. For compliance with Section 7 of the federal Endangered Species Act the Project will seek a Biological Opinion from the US Fish and Wildlife Service. Approval of the Project siting on public lands involves a federal action and is thus subject to the environmental analysis requirements of the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA), as well as Project consistency with the BLM’s Desert Renewable Energy Conservation Plan (DRECP) and any corresponding Conservation and Management Actions (CMA). If Waters of the United States are determined to be present and potentially impacted on the project site, a Clean Water Act Section 401/404 certification will be sought from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE). The project will not receive any federal financing. State or Regional Authorizations In lieu of all state and local agencies (except for those with specific independent jurisdiction) the project is seeking preparation and certification of CEQA environmental documents and site certification from the California Energy Commission (CEC) under the California Assembly Bill (AB) 205. After the CEC certifies the Environmental Impact Report (EIR), the Project will request a permit for Waste Discharge Requirements (WDR) through the Colorado Regional Water Quality Board (RWQCB). The breaker-and-a-half substation and 500 kv loop-in line will comply with the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) regulations for obtaining a General Order 131D Compliance certification. Additional authorizations include an Indirect Source Review under District Rule 9510 with the Imperial County Pollution Control District (APCD) to evaluate potential mitigation requirements for emissions of nitrogen oxides (NOx) and particulate matter (PM10). Before any ground disturbance activities commence, a dust control plan will be established in coordination with the APCD. Additionally, if the project involves facility backup generators, associated permits will be obtained from the APCD. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ ....
Project Assessment: The project meets all requirements to fall under the definition of a “covered project” for the FAST Act as a renewable energy production project. The siting of the project on federal lands, both Bureau of Land Management (BLM) and Bureau of Reclamation (BOR) subject the project to NEPA satisfying requirement 42 U.S.C. §4370m(6)(A) (i)(I) i. Due to the environment impact requirement under NEPA the project does not qualify for abbreviated authorization or environmental review process. With a total capital budget of approximately $2.5 billion, the project exceeds the requirement of a total investment of more than $200,000,000. The size and complexity of the project make it likely to benefit from enhanced oversight and coordination and the project will require an environmental impact assessment under NEPA. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Form Submitter Contact Information: * *Name:* Grace Nelson *Title:* Environmental and Permitting Specialist *Work Phone:* 9168126795 [6] *Email:* grace.nelson@intersectpower.com
[1] https://cms.permits.performance.gov/user [2] https://www.permits.performance.gov/taxonomy/term/2656 [3] https://www.permits.performance.gov/taxonomy/term/2386 [4] tel:3039096396 [5] mailto:camille@intersectpower.com [6] tel:9168126795 [7] mailto:grace.nelson@intersectpower.com
On file at the Bureau of Land Management, California Desert District Office.
Biological, hydrological, and cultural resources will be avoided in accordance with the Desert Renewable Energy Conservation Plan (2016) Conservation Management Actions. Potentially significant paleontological resources are being collected for curation at the direction of the BLM.
None
The BLM has initiated formal government to government consultation with several Indian Tribes and will continue to meet with Tribes on a regular basis as part of the consultations under Section 106 of the National Historic Preservation Act and other laws and regulations.
Public outreach for the project will be initiated when the BLM begins public scoping under NEPA.
Perkins Renewable Energy Project - MET Station Installation and Geotech Exploration: EplanningUi