Rising Tree Wind Farm Project Notice of Preparation - County of Kern

1. Project Description
KERN COUNTY PLANNING & COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT DEPARTMENT
RISING TREE WIND ENERGY PROJECT
The applicant, Rising Tree Wind Farm LLC proposes to develop the Rising Tree Wind Farm Project (the
Project) for the commercial production of up to 285 megawatts (MW) of energy from up to 95 wind
turbine generators (WTGs).
1.1 Project Location
The Project is located three (3) miles west of Mojave, California in the southeast portion of
unincorporated Kern County (Figure 1). It is bordered by existing wind energy generation facilities to the
west and north, and Oak Creek Road and the recently approved Alta-Oak Creek Mojave Wind Project to
the south. Parcels bordering the Los Angeles Aqueduct form the eastern edge of the Project site. The
primary turbine and equipment delivery route will be along Oak Creek Road and Tehachapi Willow
Springs Road from State Highway 58. Direct site access will be via 70th Street West and 67th Street West
from Oak Creek Road.
The land surrounding the Project site consists of undeveloped desert scrub, existing wind energy
generation facilities constructed from the 1980s until present, and the Los Angeles Aqueduct. The nearest
multi-dwelling development is a residential development along Douglas Avenue west of Mojave, 1.3
miles from the eastern boundary of the Project site. Individual residences and other structures are also
within the Project boundary. The Mojave Air and Spaceport is located four (4) miles east of the eastern
boundary of the Project.
The Project is located on the U.S. Geological Service 7.5 minute Mojave and Monolith Topographic
Quadrangles. On the Mojave Quadrangle the Project is located In Township 12 North, Range 13 West, in
portions of Sections 35 and 36 and in Township 11 North, Range 13 West, on Sections 1 through 3, 10,
11, 14 and 15. On the Monolith Quadrangle, the Project is located in Township 11 North, Range 13 West,
on Sections 9, 10, 15 and 16 (Figure 2).
1.2 Environmental Setting
The Project site consists of 3,278 acres, of which 2,750 acres are private land under the jurisdiction of
Kern County and 528 acres are public land administered by the Bureau of Land Management (BLM). The
applicant currently leases or owns a substantial portion of the private lands on the Project site. The site
lies within the boundaries of the Kern County General Plan (KCGP) and the Mojave Specific Plan (MSP)
(see Figure 3 for General Plan designations). The Project site has the following KCGP designations:
Lands in the area have the following KCGP and MSP designations: 1.1 (State or Federal Land), 4.1
(Accepted County Plan Area), 5.6 (Residential Minimum 2.5 Gross Acres/Unit), 5.7 (Residential
Minimum 5 Gross Acres/Unit), 5.7/2.4 (Residential Minimum 5 Gross Acres per Unit/Steep Slope), 8.2
(Resource Agriculture), 8.3 (Extensive Agriculture), 8.3/2.5 (Extensive Agriculture/Flood Hazard),
8.3/2.4 (Extensive Agriculture/Steep Slope), 8.4/2.4 (Mineral and Petroleum/Steep Slope), 8.4/2.5
(Mineral and Petroleum/Flood Hazard), and 8.5 (Resource Management).
Elevations of the Project site range from 3,150 to 3,651 feet above mean sea level (msl). The Project
would be situated on the lower slopes of Cameron Ridge and the Horned Toad Hills, which have a
maximum elevation of over 4,800 feet. The southern portion of the Project site is relatively flat while the
northern portion is more topographically diverse, with a number of ridges oriented northwest-southeast.
There are several small desert washes that traverse the area.
July 2011 1 Initial Study/Notice of Preparation