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Planning commission approves Coldwell Solar 1 LLC project with mitigation and reclamation requirements
Summary
The commission certified a mitigated negative declaration and approved a special use permit for a roughly 40 MW solar facility with up to 20 MW of battery storage on two parcels; permit includes mitigation, financial assurance and Williamson Act compatibility steps.
The Tulare County Planning Commission on Aug. 27 adopted a mitigated negative declaration and approved special use permit PSP23-012 to allow Coldwell Solar 1 LLC to construct and operate an approximate 40-megawatt solar generation facility with up to 20 megawatts of energy storage on two parcels in the AE-40 (exclusive agricultural, 40‑acre minimum) zone.
Sandy Roper, chief planner with the Tulare County Resource Management Agency special projects division, presented the project and staff’s recommended mitigation measures and conditions. Roper said the proposal shifts the previously approved site about 2.3 miles south to reduce transmission line length and to interconnect at the adjacent Southern California Edison Bliss substation. “The request would be for the commission to hold a public hearing and certify and adopt the mitigated negative declaration and the mitigation monitoring reporting plan,” Roper said.
Staff noted one of the parcels is under the California Land Conservation Act (Williamson Act) contract number 3228. The packet and staff presentation said the county has processes by which solar projects can be found compatible with Williamson Act contracts, including temporary changes in land use and the requirement that agricultural compatibility be preserved or reclaimed. Roper and staff also explained a reclamation plan and financial assurance are required so the county can restore the site at the end of the project’s useful life; the financial assurance must be periodically updated, typically every five years, based on an engineer’s estimate.
A public commenter did not appear during the hearing. Commissioners asked clarifying questions including whether the project will interconnect to the grid (staff: yes; the southern parcel is adjacent to SCE’s Bliss substation) and whether the project would rely on a power purchase agreement (staff: the county does not regulate power-purchase agreements; that is a private arrangement). Roper told the commission the applicant had proposed a roughly 35‑year term for project operations, with the potential for extension.
The commission made two motions on the item — first to certify and adopt the mitigated negative declaration and mitigation monitoring and reporting program, then to approve the special use permit and adopt the findings and conditions of approval. Both motions passed with six votes in favor and one commissioner absent.
Conditions placed on the approval require the applicant to meet zoning and General Plan compatibility findings, provide a reclamation plan and financial assurance, and comply with species‑ and agriculture‑related mitigation measures included in the mitigated negative declaration. Staff will file a Notice of Determination as required by CEQA.
The approval allows construction to proceed subject to county conditions, required agency permits and compliance with mitigation measures and bonding/financial assurance obligations.
