Draft Base Exclusions (Solar) for 2026-2027 IRP

<p><span style='font-family:&quot;Arial&quot;,sans-serif;'>This version of the base exclusions incorporates the latest </span><a target='_blank' href='https://caenergy.maps.arcgis.com/home/item.html?id=e3098d414ccb4b6aa4b043d9fd326745' rel='nofollow ugc noopener noreferrer'><span style='font-family:&quot;Arial&quot;,sans-serif;'>draft version of the Protected Area Layer (Solar)</span></a><span style='font-family:&quot;Arial&quot;,sans-serif;'> and the </span><a target='_blank' href='https://caenergy.maps.arcgis.com/home/item.html?id=fdeb9081fb4c4edaa743c2f62be82626' rel='nofollow ugc noopener noreferrer'><span style='font-family:&quot;Arial&quot;,sans-serif;'>techno-economic exclusion layer.</span></a><span style='font-family:&quot;Arial&quot;,sans-serif;'> The base exclusions form the fundamental exclusion set that the additional planning priorities of the Core Land Use Screen is added to. The merged footprints of these primary two layers are modified by the </span><a target='_blank' href='https://www.blm.gov/programs/fish-and-wildlife/sagegrouse/blm-sagegrouse-plans' rel='nofollow ugc noopener noreferrer'><span style='font-family:&quot;Arial&quot;,sans-serif;'>Greater Sage-Grouse Habitat Management Areas</span></a><span style='font-family:&quot;Arial&quot;,sans-serif;'>, the Bureau of Land Management Desert Renewable Energy Conservation Plan (DRECP) Land Use Plan Amendment (LUPA) </span><a target='_blank' href='https://caenergy.maps.arcgis.com/home/item.html?id=4dda40a263db45a399d7e2650427290c' rel='nofollow ugc noopener noreferrer'><span style='font-family:&quot;Arial&quot;,sans-serif;'>Development Focus Areas (DFAs), Variance Process Lands</span></a><span style='font-family:&quot;Arial&quot;,sans-serif;'> (VPL), and the </span><a target='_blank' href='https://caenergy.maps.arcgis.com/home/item.html?id=4a4441abb21d48cd8ba1d777d28ecead' rel='nofollow ugc noopener noreferrer'><span style='font-family:&quot;Arial&quot;,sans-serif;'>General Public Lands</span></a><span style='font-family:&quot;Arial&quot;,sans-serif;'> (GPL), as well as the </span><a target='_blank' href='https://blmsolar.anl.gov/solar-peis-2023/' rel='nofollow ugc noopener noreferrer'><span style='font-family:&quot;Arial&quot;,sans-serif;'>2024 BLM Western Solar Plan</span></a><span style='font-family:&quot;Arial&quot;,sans-serif;'>. These areas allow for renewable energy applications and are therefore exempt (erased) from the base exclusions layer, even if the protected area layer or techno-economic exclusion layer identified the area as an exclusion. The DFAs are partitioned by technology type so that only the DFAs that allow solar energy are applied in this modification.<span>&nbsp; &nbsp;</span></span></p><p><span style='font-family:&quot;Arial&quot;,sans-serif;'>The area of California remaining after removing the base exclusions is called the resource potential basemap. It forms the starting point (or base) used in renewable resource estimation and defines where environmental and land-use datasets can be applied in exploring implications of renewable resource development.<span>&nbsp;</span></span></p><p><span style='font-family:&quot;Arial&quot;,sans-serif;'>Note: Existing project footprints are also included as part of the base exclusions.&nbsp;<span> &nbsp;</span></span></p><p><span style='font-family:&quot;Arial&quot;,sans-serif;'>More information is found in the </span><a target='_blank' href='https://www.cpuc.ca.gov/-/media/cpuc-website/divisions/energy-division/documents/integrated-resource-plan-and-long-term-procurement-plan-irp-ltpp/2024-2026-irp-cycle-events-and-materials/assumptions-for-the-2026-2027-tpp/final_2025_busbar_mappingmag_presentation_cec.pdf' rel='nofollow ugc noopener noreferrer'><span style='font-family:&quot;Arial&quot;,sans-serif;'>CEC presentation</span></a><span style='font-family:&quot;Arial&quot;,sans-serif;'> from the August 19 webinar, as well as the </span><a target='_blank' href='https://www.energy.ca.gov/data-reports/california-energy-planning-library/land-use-screens' rel='nofollow ugc noopener noreferrer'><span style='font-family:&quot;Arial&quot;,sans-serif;'>2023 Land Use Screens Staff Report in the CEC Energy Planning Library</span></a><span style='font-family:&quot;Arial&quot;,sans-serif;'>. </span></p>