Project Owner
Fountain Wind LLC
Docket Number
23-OPT-01
Capacity
Up to 205 Megawatts
Location
Shasta County
Technology
Wind
Project Status
Under Review
Project Type
Opt-in
Project Description

The Fountain Wind Project is a wind energy generation facility proposed by Fountain Wind LLC (Applicant) on approximately 2,855 acres of private, leased land in unincorporated Shasta County, California. The property is located approximately 1 mile west of the existing Hatchet Ridge Wind Project, 6 miles west of Burney, 35 miles northeast of Redding, immediately south of California State Route 299 (SR 299), and near the private recreational facility of Moose Camp and other private inholdings. Overall, the project would have a total nameplate generating capacity of up to 205 megawatts. The Applicant proposes to construct up to 48 turbines, each with a generating capacity of up to 7.2 megawatts. Associated infrastructure and facilities would include a 34.5-kilovolt overhead and underground electrical collector system to connect turbines together and to an on-site collector substation; overhead and underground fiber-optic communication lines; an on-site switching station to connect the project to the existing regional grid operated by the Pacific Gas and Electric Company; a temporary construction and equipment laydown area; nine temporary laydown areas distributed throughout the project site to temporarily store and stage materials and equipment; an operation and maintenance facility with employee parking; up to four permanent meteorological evaluation towers (METs); temporary, episodic deployment of mobile Sonic Detection and Ranging (SoDAR) or Light Detection and Ranging (LiDAR) systems within identified disturbance areas (e.g., at MET locations); two storage sheds; and three temporary batch plants. Up to 19 miles of new access roads would be constructed within the project site, and up to 19 miles of existing roads would be improved. No new transmission lines are proposed.

November 28, 2023, Joint Environmental Scoping and Informational Meeting for Fountain Wind Project

Opt-In Certification

Prior to the June 30, 2022, signing of Assembly Bill (AB) 205, the CEC’s powerplant licensing jurisdiction was limited to thermal powerplants 50 megawatts (MW) or larger. To accelerate the state’s transition to renewable energy and to maintain electrical system reliability under this transition and during extreme climate-change-driven events, AB 205, as modified by AB 209 expands the types of facilities that can be certified by the CEC. This “Opt-in” certification process is available to solar photovoltaic and terrestrial wind energy powerplants of 50 MW or more, energy storage facilities of 200 megawatt-hours (MWh) or more, the electric transmission lines from these facilities to the first point of interconnection, and facilities that manufacture or assemble clean energy or storage technologies or their components with a capital investment of at least $250 million. In addition, thermal powerplants of 50 MW or more that do not use fossil or nuclear fuels may choose the Opt-in process rather than the CEC’s Application for Certification process. AB 205 authorizes the CEC to accept applications for these facilities and provides a new, streamlined process for their review and a decision by the CEC. The CEC is the “lead agency” under the California Environmental Quality Act and is required to prepare an environmental impact report for any facility that elects to opt-in to the CEC’s jurisdiction. With exceptions, the issuance of a certificate by the CEC for an eligible facility is in lieu of any permit, certificate, or similar document required by any state, local, or regional agency, or federal agency to the extent permitted by federal law, and supersedes any applicable statute, ordinance, or regulation of any state, local, or regional agency, or federal agency to the extent permitted by federal law. The CEC’s authority under the opt-in certification program does not supersede the authority of the California State Lands Commission to require leases and receive lease revenues, if applicable, or the authority of the California Coastal Commission, the San Francisco Bay Conservation and Development Commission, the State Water Resources Control Board or applicable regional water quality control board, or, in the case of manufacturing facilities, the applicable local air quality management district or the Department of Toxic Substances Control.

Contacts

Project Manager

Leonidas Payne
STEPsiting@energy.ca.gov
(Please enter project name in the email subject line)

Public Participation Questions

Public Advisor
publicadvisor@energy.ca.gov
916-957-7910

Media Inquiries

Media & Public Communications Office
mediaoffice@energy.ca.gov
916-654-4989

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