BLM AUTHORIZES ELAND GEN-TIE PROJECT GENERATION INTERCONNECTION LINE IN KERN COUNTY

Project provides infrastructure to develop America’s energy resources

RIDGECREST, Calif. – RealEstateRama – In a move that will improve the nation’s energy infrastructure, the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) has approved the Eland Gen-Tie Project in Kern County, northeast of Mojave.

The Decision Record and Finding of No Significant Impact authorizes 8 Minute Solar Energy a right-of-way (ROW) to construct, operate, maintain and decommission a 230-kilovolt generation interconnection (gen-tie) line and spur roads across public lands. The approximately 26-acre gen-tie line will supply power from the 500-megawatt Eland 1 Solar Farm generation facility, located on private lands in Kern County, to the existing Los Angeles Department of Water and Power Barren Ridge Substation.

The gen-tie line will cross just over two miles of BLM-managed public land, with more than 1.5 miles falling within a designated utility corridor and less than half a mile within a Development Focus Area (DFA).

A portion of the ROW would be expanded to 200-feet-wide to allow for greater spacing between the gen-tie line and other overhead electric infrastructure in the vicinity of Pine Tree Canyon Wash.

The 368 Energy Corridor, which part of the project falls within, has been specifically designated as a multi-modal corridor and can accommodate both electric transmission and pipeline projects.

Public comments on the EA for the Eland Gen-Tie Project closed in November 2019. The Decision Record, environmental assessment, and other associated documents are available through ePlanning, or by visiting the Ridgecrest Field Office, 300 S. Richmond Road, Ridgecrest.

The BLM manages more than 245 million acres of public land located primarily in 12 Western states, including Alaska. The BLM also administers 700 million acres of sub-surface mineral estate throughout the nation. In fiscal year 2018, the diverse activities authorized on BLM-managed lands generated $105 billion in economic output across the country. This economic activity supported 471,000 jobs and contributed substantial revenue to the U.S. Treasury and state governments, mostly through royalties on minerals.