Three hearings are scheduled early next month to gather public input on a proposed solar-energy facility within a 14,400-acre application area in the Southwest Valley.
The 375-megawatt Sonoran Solar Energy Project is being planned on federal land in Little Rainbow Valley.
The solar site is south of Buckeye and east of State Route 85, just north on the Sonoran Desert National Monument.
Boulevard Association LLC, a member of ESI Energy LLC of Juno Beach. Fla., has applied for right-of-way on federal land to construct and operate the electrical generating facility.
The hearings will be conducted by the U.S. Bureau of Land Management, which is preparing a draft environmental impact statement on the proposed facility.
The federal agency is considering, among other things, the site-specific impacts of the project on air quality, biological, cultural and water resources, as well as hazardous-materials handling, land use, noise and visual resources.
The three public meetings will be:
6:30 to 8:30 p.m. Aug. 4 at the BLM National Training Center, 9628 N. 31st Ave., in northwest Phoenix.
6:30 to 8:30 p.m. Aug. 5 at Buckeye Union High School, 1000 E. Narramore Ave., Buckeye.
6:30 to 8:30 p.m. Aug. 6 at Gila Bend High School, 308 N. Martin Ave., Gila Bend.
The proposed environmental impact statement is expected to be ready for public review in late 2010, according to documents issued by BLM officials.
Brent Whiting can be reached by e-mail
at bwhiting @westvalleyview.com.
