Bureau of Land Management (BLM) has started seeking public inputs related to the environmental assessment of an up to 400 MW solar project to be partly situated on public lands in California. Reportedly, feedback for the Easley Solar scheme will be solicited for 30 days, until October 15.
The proposal was made by IP Easley, a company affiliated with Intersect Power LLC, with the goal of constructing, running, and maintaining a photovoltaic farm in Riverside County. North of Desert Centre, the complex will enclose 990 acres of private land and around 2,700 acres of public areas maintained by the BLM.
Furthermore, the region will be developed in accordance with the Desert Renewable Energy Conservation Plan, which attempts to streamline renewable energy development while protecting desert ecosystems. The plan encompasses 10.8 million acres of public lands in seven California counties’ desert regions. BLM plans to address the proposal at a public meeting which is due on October 4th.
In July 2023, Ameresco received contracts from Avenue Capital’s Middle River Power (MRP) to design and construct four battery energy storage system (BESS) projects in California totaling 379 MWh. The four BESS projects were co-located at gas power plants owned by MRP.
