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

KERN COUNTY PLANNING & COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT DEPARTMENT
RISING TREE WIND ENERGY PROJECT
� Offset the need for additional electricity generated from fossil fuels and assist the State in
meeting its air quality goals and reduce greenhouse gases as mandated by Assembly Bill 32;
� Increase the tax base of Kern County and increase local short-term and long-term employment
opportunities in the renewable energy sector;
� Displace 510,000 tons of carbon dioxide (a greenhouse gas) emissions per year that would
otherwise be required to generate the same amount of electricity as a 285 MW Project;
� Displace 194 metric tons of sulfur dioxide emissions per year;
� Displace 226 metric tons of nitrogen oxide emissions per year;
� Boost business activity for the area during construction and operations and provide economic
benefits for local businesses in Mojave and Tehachapi;
� Use land located near existing wind energy generation facilities to minimize environmental and
visual impact;
� Optimize the use of previously disturbed land and develop land for its highest and best use; and
� Use state-of-the-art horizontal axis WTG technology to achieve increased performance, lower
cost, higher reliability, and longer service life.
1.6 Proposed Discretionary Actions/Required Approvals
Construction and operation of the Project may require certain discretionary actions and approvals
including, but not limited to, those presented in Table 2.
The Project entails 528 acres of land under the jurisdiction of the BLM, which must satisfy the
requirements of NEPA prior to issuing a Record of Decision (ROD) and associated development right-ofway
grant. The environmental review document being prepared to assess the environmental impacts of
the Project will fulfill the requirements of both NEPA and CEQA. Although the environmental review
process will consist of a single document, Kern County and the BLM must independently satisfy their
requirements under CEQA and NEPA, respectively, and will thus be independent lead agencies. While it
is expected that the two (2) review processes will be completed simultaneously, unforeseen circumstances
may result in diverging timelines, and thus diverging Project approval dates. Because the majority of the
Project is on private land that does not require BLM authorization, if The applicant receives approval for
the private portion of the Project prior to receiving a ROD under NEPA, the applicant may proceed with
construction of facilities on private land prior to constructing facilities on or across federal land.
July 2011 15 Initial Study/Notice of Preparation