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Palmdale Hybrid Power Project (SE 09-01) 

August 2011

Summary of the Proposed Permit

On August 11, 2011, the United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Region IX provided 

notice of, and requested public comment on, action relating to the Prevention of Significant Deterioration 

(PSD) permit application for the Palmdale Hybrid Power Project (Project). The proposed permit would 

grant conditional approval, in accordance with the Prevention of Significant Deterioration (PSD) 

regulations (40 CFR 52.21), to the City of Palmdale to construct and operate a 570 megawatt (MW, 

nominal) electric generating facility. The City of Palmdale is located at 38300 Sierra Highway, Suite A, 

Palmdale, CA 93550. The public comment period for this proposed permit, which is ongoing, will close 

on September 14, 2011. 

The proposed Project consists of two General Electric (GE) Frame 7FA natural gas-fired combustion 

turbine-generators (CTGs) rated at 154 megawatt (MW) each, two heat recovery steam generators 

(HRSGs), one steam turbine generator (STG) rated at 267 MW, and 251 acres of parabolic solar-thermal 

collectors with associated heat-transfer equipment with the capacity to provide up to 50 MW of 

supplemental energy. The Project will have an electrical output of 570 MW (nominal) or 563 MW (net). 

The Project will be located on a parcel of land owned by the city of Palmdale, currently zoned for 

industrial use, in Los Angeles County. The approximately 333-acre parcel is west of the northwest corner 

of Air Force Plant 42, and east of the intersection of Sierra Highway and East Avenue M. The City of 

Palmdale is located within the Antelope Valley Air Quality Management District (District).

This document is intended to provide a brief, informal summary of information to assist members of the 

public attending public participation events scheduled for September 14, 2011 for EPA’s proposed PSD 

permit for the Project. For official permit documents developed in accordance with 40 CFR Part 124 and 

more details about the permit requirements, refer to EPA’s public notice, the proposed permit, and the 

Fact Sheet/Ambient Air Quality Impact Report (AAQIR) for this proposed permit action, which are 

linked to the EPA Region 9 permit website: http://www.epa.gov/region09/air/permit/r9-permitsissued.html#pubcomment. 

What Laws and Regulations Apply to EPA’s Proposed PSD Permit? 

We have prepared this proposed permit based on our Prevention of Significant Deterioration regulations 

issued under the Clean Air Act at 40 Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) 52.21. We believe that the 

proposed project will comply with PSD requirements including the installation and operation of Best 

Available Control Technology (BACT), and will not cause or contribute to a violation of the National 

Ambient Air Quality Standards (NAAQS) for the pollutants regulated under the permit. We have made 

this determination based on the information supplied by the applicant, our review of the analyses 

contained in the permit application, and other relevant information contained in the administrative record 

for this proposed action. EPA has provided the proposed permit and fact sheet/AAQIR to the public for 

review, and will make a final decision on the Project’s PSD permit application after considering all public 

comments on our proposal submitted during the public comment period.

Environmental requirements from other federal, state, or local laws are not included in this proposed 

permit unless they are also part of the Clean Air Act Prevention of Significant Deterioration program. The 

project is required to comply with all other environmental requirements. To this end, the City of Palmdale 

PUBLIC INFORMATION SHEET

~ OVERVIEW ~

PALMDALE HYBRID POWER PROJECT

PROPOSED CLEAN AIR ACT 

PSD PERMIT
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Palmdale Hybrid Power Project (SE 09-01) 

August 2011

also has submitted applications for state and local construction approvals, respectively referred to as an 

Application for Certification (AFC) submitted to the California Energy Commission (CEC)1and an 

application for a Determination of Compliance (DOC) submitted to the Antelope Valley Air Quality 

Management District (District). The emissions of other air pollutants from the proposed Project, 

including the pollutants for which the area is not meeting the NAAQS (and precursors that lead to the 

formation of such pollutants), are regulated by the District, which implements the Nonattainment New 

Source Review (NA-NSR) permitting program for this area. The District is designated as a severe nonattainment area for ozone. The non-attainment pollutants subject to NA-NSR permitting by the District 

include nitrogen oxides (NOx) and volatile organic compounds (VOC) as ozone precursors. On May 13, 

2010, the District issued a Final Determination of Compliance for the Project, which includes the 

District’s NA-NSR permit requirements. For power plants over 50 MW, the CEC must issue a license to 

authorize construction. The CEC issued its Final Commission Decision approving the Project’s 

Application for Certification on August 10, 2011 (08-AFC-09). The District and CEC approval processes 

are separate from EPA’s PSD permitting process.

The applicant must also apply for and obtain an Acid Rain permit and a Title V operating permit. The 

applicant will apply for the Title V operating permit, which will incorporate the acid rain permit after the 

facility is constructed, as these permits are not required prior to construction. The District has jurisdiction 

to issue the Acid Rain permit and the operating permit for the facility.

What Does EPA’s Proposed PSD Permit Regulate?

The PSD program (40 CFR 52.21) applies to “major” new sources of attainment pollutants. The 

estimated emissions for this project show that the facility will be a major source for nitrogen dioxides 

(NO2), carbon monoxide (CO), total particulate matter (PM), particulate matter under 10 micrometers 

(PM10), particulate matter under 2.5 (μm) in diameter (PM2.5), and greenhouse gases (GHG). Once a source 

is considered major for a PSD pollutant, PSD also applies to any other pollutant regulated under the PSD 

program that is emitted in a significant amount. The emissions of oxides of sulfur (SOx) will be less than 

the major source threshold and less than the significant emission rate. Therefore, PSD does not apply for 

SOx. In addition, because the area in which the Project is located is designated non-attainment for ozone, 

the PSD program does not apply to ozone and the PSD permit does not address ozone.

In accordance with 40 CFR 52.21(j), a new major stationary source is required to apply best available 

control technology (BACT) for each PSD pollutant that it has the potential to emit (PTE) in significant 

amounts. With respect to the Project, NO2, CO, PM, PM10, PM2.5, and GHG are emitted in significant 

amounts, and therefore the proposed permit requires the Project to apply BACT to all equipment that 

emits these pollutants.

How Would EPA’s Proposed PSD Permit Affect Air Quality? 

The PSD regulations require an examination of the impacts of the proposed project on ambient air quality

for the pollutants regulated under the PSD permit. EPA has reviewed the computer modeling analysis that 

predicts the effect of the proposed project on ambient air quality. Based on the modeling results, and the 

technical information that we have reviewed to date, the project’s impacts on air quality and visibility are 

consistent with limits allowed under the Clean Air Act. The proposed emission limits will protect the 

NAAQS for NO2, CO, PM10, and PM2.5. There are no NAAQS for PM or GHG.

The PSD regulations require that EPA evaluate other potential impacts on 1) soils and vegetation; 2) 

visibility impairment; and 3) growth. Based on our review of the analyses provided by the applicant and 

the maximum potential concentrations of the visibility-related criteria pollutants -- NO2, PM10, and PM2.5 --

 

1 City of Palmdale Hybrid Power Plant Project Licensing Case (08-AFC-09), 

http://www.energy.ca.gov/sitingcases/palmdale/index.html. 
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Palmdale Hybrid Power Project (SE 09-01) 

August 2011

we do not expect any adverse impacts on visibility, nor do we expect this project to result in any adverse 

impacts on plants and soils or significant growth.

What Other Actions is EPA Taking in Connection with Its Decision making Process? 

EPA has been engaged in consultation with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service under section 7 of the 

federal Endangered Species Act (ESA) to ensure that its proposed PSD permit decision for the Project is 

not likely to jeopardize the continued existence of any federally-listed endangered or threatened species or 

result in the destruction or adverse modification of critical habitat for such species. EPA will proceed with

issuance of its final PSD permit decision after making a determination that its decision will be consistent 

with ESA requirements.

In addition, in accordance with Executive Order 12898, “Federal Actions to Address Environmental 

Justice in Minority Populations and Low-Income Populations,” EPA determined that it would be 

appropriate to prepare an analysis to consider environmental justice issues in connection with the issuance 

of this federal PSD permit. In our Environmental Justice Analysis, we conclude that the Project will not 

cause or contribute to air quality levels in excess of health standards for the pollutants regulated under the 

permit, including CO, NO2, PM10, or PM2.5,and that therefore it will not result in disproportionately high 

and adverse human health or environmental effects with respect to these air pollutants on minority or lowincome populations residing near the proposed Project or the community as a whole. The Environmental

Justice Analysis is available to the public as part of the administrative record supporting EPA’s proposed 

PSD permit for the Project.