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[Federal Register Volume 76, Number 194 (Thursday, October 6, 2011)]
[Notices]
[Pages 62052-62054]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2011-25891]

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 DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY

Issuance of a Loan Guarantee to First Solar, Inc., for the Desert 
Sunlight Solar Farm Project

AGENCY: U.S. Department of Energy.

ACTION: Record of decision.

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SUMMARY: The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) announces its decision to 
issue a loan guarantee under Title XVII of the Energy Policy Act of 
2005 (EPAct 2005) to First Solar, Inc., (First Solar) for construction 
and start-up of the Desert Sunlight Solar Farm Project (DSSFP or the 
Project), a 550-megawatt (MW) nominal capacity solar photovoltaic power 
generating facility on approximately 4,144 acres, all of which is 
administered by the U.S. Department of the Interior, Bureau of Land 
Management (BLM), in Riverside County, California. The potential 
environmental impacts of constructing and operating this project were 
analyzed pursuant to the National Environmental

[[Page 62053]]

Policy Act (NEPA) in Plan Amendment/Final Environmental Impact 
Statement for the Desert Sunlight Solar Farm Project (76 Federal 
Register [FR] 21402; April 15, 2011) prepared by the BLM Palm Springs-
South Coast Field Office with DOE as a cooperating agency. BLM 
consulted DOE during preparation of the EIS, DOE provided comments to 
BLM on the content, and BLM addressed those comments in the Final EIS. 
DOE subsequently determined that the project analyzed in the Final EIS 
is substantially the same as the project that would be covered by the 
DOE loan guarantee and that its own NEPA procedures had been satisfied, 
and DOE adopted the Final EIS (DOE/EIS-0448) (76 FR 37112; June 24, 
2011).

ADDRESSES: Copies of this ROD and the Final EIS may be obtained by 
contacting Joseph Marhamati, NEPA Document Manager, Environmental 
Compliance Division, Loan Programs Office (LP-10), U.S. Department of 
Energy, 1000 Independence Avenue, SW., Washington, DC 20585; telephone 
202-586-8198; or e-mail joseph.marhamati@hq.doe.gov. The Final EIS and 
this ROD are also available on the DOE NEPA Web site at: http://nepa.energy.gov, and on the Loan Programs Web site at: http://www.loanprograms.energy.gov.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For further information about this 
ROD, contact Joseph Marhamati, as indicated in the ADDRESSES section 
above. For general information about the DOE NEPA process, contact 
Carol Borgstrom, Director, Office of NEPA Policy and Compliance (GC-
54), U.S. Department of Energy, 1000 Independence Avenue, SW., 
Washington, DC 20585; telephone 202-586-4600; leave a message at 800-
472-2756; or e-mail askNEPA@hq.doe.gov. Information about DOE NEPA 
activities and access to DOE NEPA documents are available through the 
DOE NEPA Web site at http://nepa.energy.gov.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

Background

    The proposed DSSFP is a photovoltaic solar electrical generating 
facility using commercial, thin-film cadmium telluride solar module 
technology on a total of approximately 4,144 acres of BLM-administered 
Federal land in Riverside County, California, six miles north of Desert 
Center, between the cities of Coachella to the west and Blythe to the 
east. The Project includes an operations and maintenance facility, 
solar energy visitor's center, and an on-site electric transmission 
substation. Also, the Project includes a 220-kilovolt (kV) Gen-Tie Line 
(generation interconnection line) that will transmit the electricity 
generated to the regional transmission system, through the proposed new 
Red Bluff Substation where the power will feed into Southern California 
Edison's existing ``Devers Palo Verde 1'' 500-kV transmission line. The 
Gen-Tie Line will be 12.1 miles long. In addition, the Project will 
include a distribution line, an electrical transmission line, 
telecommunication facilities, and an access road (approximately 7.3 
miles long).
    In November 2009, the BLM Palm Springs-South Coast Field Office 
received an application pursuant to Title V of the Federal Land Policy 
and Management Act (43 United States Code [U.S.C.] 1761) for a right-
of-way (ROW) grant to construct, operate, maintain, and decommission a 
project identified as the Desert Sunlight Solar Farm Project on BLM-
administered Federal land in Riverside County, California. The BLM 
California Desert Conservation Area (CDCA) Plan requires all sites 
identified for power generation or transmission facilities that are not 
identified in the CDCA Plan to acquire a Plan Amendment to the CDCA 
Plan. BLM approved the Proposed Plan Amendment to the CDCA Plan to 
allow the DSSFP and approved a solar energy ROW grant to First Solar 
for the project. BLM published a Notice of Availability for its ROD in 
the Federal Register on August 15, 2011 (76 FR 50493).
    In December 2009, First Solar applied to DOE for a loan guarantee 
under Title XVII of EPAct 2005, as amended by Section 406 of the 
American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (Recovery Act). On 
January 7, 2010, First Solar submitted its Part II application for a 
$1.24 billion loan guarantee to support the financing of the DSSFP.

NEPA Review

    BLM was the lead Federal agency in the preparation of the DSSFP 
EIS, and DOE was a cooperating agency pursuant to a Memorandum of 
Agreement between DOE and BLM signed in January 2010. DOE reviewed the 
content of the draft EIS and provided comments to BLM to ensure that 
information requirements of DOE NEPA regulations (10 Code of Federal 
Regulations part 1021) were satisfied and that the analyzed 
alternatives encompassed the DOE proposed loan guarantee for 
construction and start-up of DSSFP.
    On January 13, 2010, BLM published ``Notice of Intent To Prepare an 
Environmental Impact Statement for the Proposed First Solar Desert 
Sunlight Solar Farm Project, Riverside County, CA and Possible Land Use 
Plan Amendment'' in the Federal Register (75 FR 1801), with a 30-day 
scoping period for public comments that closed on February 12, 2010. 
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) published a Notice of 
Availability of the Draft EIS and the Draft CDCA Plan Amendment for 
DSSFP in the Federal Register on August 27, 2010 (75 FR 52736). The 
Draft EIS was available for a 90-day public comment period, which 
closed on November 26, 2010. Comments received on the Draft EIS were 
addressed in the Plan Amendment and Final Environmental Impact 
Statement for the Desert Sunlight Solar Energy Project (Final EIS), and 
the EPA published a Notice of Availability in the Federal Register on 
April 15, 2011 (76 FR 21345). All substantive comments received during 
the 30-day waiting period for the Final EIS were reviewed and responded 
to in Section 5.3 of BLM's Record of Decision for the Desert Sunlight 
Solar Farm Project (BLM ROD). BLM published the Notice of Availability 
for its ROD in the Federal Register on August 15, 2011 (76 FR 50493). 
Links to these documents can be found on the BLM Web site: http://www.blm.gov/ca/st/en/prog/energy/fasttrack/First/fedstatus.html.

Alternatives Considered

    BLM considered six alternatives: (1) The project identified in the 
Final EIS as the Proposed Action with Land Use Plan Amendment (4,144-
acre site layout and 550 MW output); (2) an Alternate Action 
Alternative with Land Use Plan Amendment (reconfigured 4,110-acre site 
layout and 550 MW output); (3) a Reduced Acreage Alternative with Land 
Use Plan Amendment (3,303-acre site layout and 413 MW output); (4) No 
Action Alternative A (No Issuance of a Right-of-Way Grant and No Land 
Use Plan Amendment); (5) No Action Alternative B (No Project with Plan 
Amendment to identify the area as unsuitable for solar energy 
development); and (6) No Action Alternative C (No Project with Plan 
Amendment to identify the area as suitable for solar energy 
development). Chapter 2 of the Final EIS describes these alternatives 
in detail, and they are fully analyzed in Chapter 4 of the Final EIS. 
Alternative 1 was identified in the Final EIS as the Preferred 
Alternative and ultimately selected by BLM. BLM also approved part of 
Final EIS Alternative 5 that makes the remainder of the Project Study 
Area (approximately 14,500 acres) unavailable for large-scale solar 
energy development.
    The DOE decision is whether or not to issue a loan guarantee to 
First Solar

[[Page 62054]]

for $1.24 billion to support construction and start-up of the DSSFP. 
Accordingly, the DOE alternatives are to issue the loan guarantee to 
First Solar for construction and start-up of the DSSFP under the 
Proposed Action identified as the BLM Selected Alternative in the BLM 
ROD, and the No Action Alternative. Under the No Action Alternative, 
DOE would not issue a loan guarantee for the project and it is not 
likely that First Solar would implement the project as currently 
planned.

Environmentally Preferable Alternative

    BLM's environmentally preferred alternative is the No Action 
Alternative involving No Project with Plan Amendment to Identify the 
Area as Unsuitable for Solar Development (Alternative 5). This 
alternative would not allow development of the proposed project or 
other solar energy generating projects at this location and would have 
no impacts on the ground. BLM indicated in its ROD that this 
alternative would not allow the development of renewable energy, and 
this alternative was not chosen in full by BLM. However, a portion of 
the alternative was approved which made the remainder of the Project 
Study Area unavailable to solar development.
    DOE has decided that its proposed Alternative, to issue a loan 
guarantee for construction and start-up of the DSSFP identified as the 
Proposed Action in the Final EIS, is environmentally preferable. DOE 
has determined that this alternative offers substantial environmental 
benefits due to anticipated reductions in greenhouse gas emissions as 
described in the Final EIS, and because all practicable means to avoid 
or minimize environmental harm, as described in the Final EIS and BLM 
ROD and its appendices for the DSSFP, are required by BLM as mitigation 
measures.

Consultation

    As the lead Federal agency for the DSSFP, BLM complied with Section 
106 of the National Historic Preservation Act and consulted with the 
Advisory Council on Historic Preservation, the California State 
Historic Preservation Officer, and interested Native American tribes; 
complied with Section 7 of the Endangered Species Act and the Bald and 
Golden Eagle Protection Act and consulted with the U.S. Fish and 
Wildlife Service; and entered into government-to-government 
consultations with a number of tribal governments. In addition, BLM 
consulted with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, which determined that 
the project site does not impact waters of the United States and that a 
Clean Water Act permit will not be required, and the State of 
California and Riverside County regarding compliance with state and 
local laws. Chapter 5 of the BLM Final EIS summarizes consultations 
with agencies and other entities.

Intentional Destructive Acts

    As a part of its review, DOE verified that a discussion of acts of 
terrorism, sabotage or other intentional destructive acts was included 
in the Final EIS. DOE concludes that the proposed DSSFP presents an 
unlikely target for an act of terrorism or sabotage. Further, as 
discussed in the Final EIS, the site security measures provide 
appropriate levels of security to protect electrical infrastructure 
from malicious mischief, vandalism, or domestic/foreign terrorist 
attacks.

Decision

    DOE has decided to issue a loan guarantee for construction and 
start-up of DSSFP identified as the Proposed Action with Land Use Plan 
Amendment alternative in the Final EIS, which BLM selected in its ROD.
    Approval of the loan guarantee for DSSFP responds to the DOE 
purpose and need pursuant to Title XVII Section 1705 of EPAct 2005 (42 
U.S.C. 16511-16514). Section 1705 authorizes a program for rapid 
deployment of renewable energy projects and related manufacturing 
facilities, electric power transmission projects, and leading-edge 
biofuels projects. The primary purposes of the Recovery Act are job 
preservation and creation, infrastructure investment, energy efficiency 
and science, assistance to the unemployed, and state and local fiscal 
stabilization. The Section 1705 Program is designed to address the 
economic conditions of the Nation, in part, through renewable energy, 
transmission, and leading-edge biofuels projects. To be eligible, 
projects must commence construction by September 30, 2011.

Mitigation

    The DSSFP project for which DOE has decided to issue a loan 
guarantee, includes mitigation measures, terms, and conditions applied 
by BLM in its ROW grants. The mitigation measures, terms, and 
conditions represent practicable means by which to avoid or minimize 
environmental harm from the selected alternative (Proposed Action). BLM 
is the lead Federal agency for the DSSFP project under NEPA and is 
responsible for ensuring compliance with all adopted mitigation 
measures, terms, and conditions for the DSSFP project set forth in the 
Final EIS and BLM ROD. The mitigation measures, terms, and conditions 
are provided in Appendix L of the Final EIS and Appendix 2 of the BLM 
ROD. A Compliance Monitoring Plan for those measures, terms, and 
conditions is provided in Appendix 5 of the BLM ROD.
    The DOE loan guarantee agreement requires that the applicant comply 
with all applicable laws and the terms of the ROW grant, including 
mitigation measures contained therein. An applicant's failure to comply 
with applicable laws and the ROW grant would constitute a default. Upon 
continuance of a default, DOE would have the right under the loan 
guarantee agreement between DOE and the applicant to exercise usual and 
customary remedies. To ensure that the applicant so performs, the Loan 
Programs Office proactively monitors all operative loan guarantee 
transactions.

    Issued in Washington, DC, on September 29, 2011.
Jonathan M. Silver,
Executive Director, Loan Programs Office.
[FR Doc. 2011-25891 Filed 10-5-11; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6450-10-P
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