Project
Permitting
Review
APRIL 2022
Overview of RFO Project Review
• EBCE's RPS and Storage RFOs for long-term PPAs include diligence and review of development status that includes environmental review
• EBCE weights development status at 20% of the total score, this includes the below with equal weighting:
o Environmental Studies
o Permit status
o Interconnection status
o Site Control
o Construction Status
Permitting/Environmental Impacts Criteria
• Evaluation criteria for permitting and environmental impacts for project scoring
Project Requirements
• Project Review
o EBCE received bids from projects with a range of development status o Projects that completed all applicable permitting or were advanced in the permitting process were scored more favorably than those in earlier stages of development
• All projects in CA must comply with CEQA guidelines
• Additionally, the Seller must obtain all necessary discretionary and ministerial permits and satisfy requirements from the respective Authority Having Jurisdiction (AHJ) to begin project development and construction. This is a requirement of the AHJ as well as a contractual obligation of all EBCE PPAs. • The pertinent AHJ may be the county, city, or BLM, which all maintain the appropriate depth of knowledge and expertise related to land use and permitting to make the appropriate environmental/permitting determinations Oberon
Renewable
Energy Project
Confidential and Proprietary – Intersect Power 2
● Oberon is a 500 MWac solar photovoltaic project combined with 250 MWac of 4-hour battery storage located on BLM land in eastern Riverside County, interconnecting to the SCE Red Bluff Substation ● The project is sited in a Development Focus Area identified through the DRECP, a collaborative effort between the CEC, BLM and NGOs to identify land ideal for solar development
● The project underwent exhaustive CEQA and NEPA reviews over a 15 month period, culminating in the approval of an Environmental Impact Report (CEQA) in Dec 2021 and Environmental Assessment (NEPA) in Jan 2022 by CA agencies and BLM, respectively
● The project will begin construction in summer of 2022 and be online by the end of 2023. Once operational, it will serve 130,000 residential customers annually and displace over 1 million metric tons of CO2, equivalent to taking 235,000 cars off the road each year
Oberon Renewable Energy Project - Introduction
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The DRECP
A multi-stakeholder landscape-level planning effort led by the California Energy Commission and the Bureau of Land Management to identify and protect sensitive lands for conservation values and to identify and streamline development for renewable energy development.
In a process that
spanned 15 years, the
unprecedented plan
covers 22.5 million acres
in seven California
counties—Imperial, Inyo,
Kern, Los Angeles,
Riverside, San
Bernardino, and San
Diego.
Confidential and Proprietary – Intersect Power 4
Oberon Project Summary
The Oberon project represents a long-earned payoff of the DRECP process, as it is one of the first projects to be approved under the DRECP, along with two other projects also just recently approved.
• Sited in a “Development Focus Area” which was designated in the DRECP for solar energy development
• Application area is 4,700 acres, but through an efficient layout, the final design is only 2,600 acres to protect sensitive environmental resources and Native American values • Modular design avoids sensitive resources that occur on site, including prehistoric cultural artifacts, wildlife movement corridors, and sensitive habitats for rare and threatened wildlife species
• A comprehensive CEQA process was conducted by the Colorado River Basin Water Quality Control Board, resulting in project approval in December 2021 • A comprehensive NEPA process was conducted by BLM, resulting in project approval in January 2022
• As part of project approval, the project will permanently protect nearly 6,000 acres of high-quality desert habitat, under a conservation easement and endowed management plan
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Project Design Minimally Impacts Sensitive Resources
Cultural
Resources
Avoided
Mycrophyll
Woodlands
and Habitat
Corridors
Avoided
● Project design intentionally avoids 1,100 acres of microphyll woodlands, with direct impact to only 80 acres ● IP Oberon is mitigating this impact at 5:1 ratio by permanently preserving 400 acres of offsite microsphyll woodlands Confidential and Proprietary – Intersect Power 6
Environmental Design Process
• Over the course of two years, engaged directly with a coalition of NGOs including Audubon Society, NRDC, Sierra Club, Center for Biological Diversity, California Native Plant Society, The Wilderness Society, National Parks Conservation Association, Defenders of Wildlife, and others to address some project design concerns
• Used feedback from NGO coalition to inform project footprint and design to avoid impacts to biological resources, including a habitat type called “microphyll woodlands”
• Final project design avoids highest quality habitat for desert tortoise, nesting birds, rare plants, and avoids all but ~80 acres of microphyll woodlands
• No remaining controversy or opposition to project design remains Confidential and Proprietary – Intersect Power 7
Road Design Prior to Consultation with NGOs
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Road Design After Consultation with NGOs