-December 14,2023-
Just east of I-5 at the Kern and Kings border, Pelicans Jaw Solar, LLC proposes constructing and operating the Pelicans Jaw Hybrid Solar Project on 3,943 acres in Kern County. The project is a solar facility with a 500 MW capacity and a Battery Energy Storage System (BESS) capable of storing approximately 2,000 MWh of energy. It will also include a 230-kV generation-tie transmission line extending the project’s on-site substation to Pacific Gas and Electric’s proposed on-site switching station.
This month the County offered a final Notice of Determination on the project’s environmental documents.
Construction is expected to start in January 2024 and be completed in December 2024. The project has been estimated to be valued at $810 million.
Delta Tunnel project moves forward
The long awaited $16 billion project to build a 45-mile Delta tunnel under the Sacramento-San Joaquin River delta is finally moving forward.
The state Dept of Water Resources just released a final EIR on the project with the expectation of final approval to follow.DWR says” By 2040, California is expected to lose 10% of its water supply due to hotter temperatures. During January’s atmospheric rivers, the Delta Conveyance Project could’ve captured enough water for 2.3 million peoples’ yearly usage. Until this year, the state faced its three driest years on record. Extreme weather whiplash will result in more intense swings between droughts and floods. California’s 60-year-old State Water Project infrastructure is not built for these climate effects.”
The state says the Delta Conveyance Project would modernize the state’s water infrastructure to:
-Capture and move more water during wet seasons to better endure dry seasons;
-Minimize future losses from climate-driven weather extremes;
-Protect against earthquakes disrupting water supplies;
-Continue meeting regulatory water quality and fishery requirements, and add new operating rules for further fishery protections;
-Includes a Community Benefits Program to ensure local communities get the means and resources to achieve tangible and lasting benefits.
“Climate change is threatening our access to clean drinking water, diminishing future supplies for millions of Californians – doing nothing is not an option. After the three driest years on record, we didn’t have the infrastructure to fully take advantage of an exceptionally wet year, which will become more and more critical as our weather whiplashes between extremes,” said Governor Gavin Newsom. “This project is essential to updating our water system for millions of Californians. This new approach, redesigned following community and environmental input, is how we can build a California of the future.”