SACRAMENTO — The California Energy Commission siting committee reviewing the proposed Pio Pico Energy Center project will hold a site visit and public informational hearing.
When: Monday, May 16, 2011, beginning at 3 p.m.
Where: Southwestern College Higher Education Center at Otay Mesa, 8100 Gigantic Street, Otay Mesa, California
Pio Pico Energy Center, LLC, the project’s applicant, will provide transportation at 3 p.m. to take participants from the Southern College Higher Education Center to the proposed project site. Participants will return for the public informational hearing, which begins at 4:15 p.m.
The public is asked to make reservations for the site visit before May 11. To make a reservation, leave a message with the Energy Commission Public Adviser’s Office at (916) 654-4489 or 1-800-822-6228 or e-mail publicadviser@energy.state.ca.us. Please provide your name, telephone number, and the number of persons requesting a reservation.
Arrangements have been made for people unable to attend the hearing to participate by telephone and/or by computer. For details, click the following link and scroll to page 5: http://www.energy.ca.gov/sitingcases/piopico/notices/2011-05-16_Notice_of_Site_Visit_and_Informational_Hearing.pdf
Why: The hearing will provide an opportunity for the public to obtain information, offer comments and concerns, and view the project site. Pio Pico Energy Center, LLC will discuss the plans for the project. Energy Commission staff will discuss the licensing process and staff’s role in reviewing the project. The Public Adviser‘s Office will explain how to participate in the process.
What: The 300-megawatt project is a natural gas-fired, simple-cycle electrical generating facility. The Pio Pico Energy Center will be located on Alta Road and Calzada de la Fuente in the Otay Mesa area of unincorporated area San Diego County. The facility would be on a 10-acre site next to the existing Otay Mesa Generating Project.
The current application for certification replaces the previously proposed project that the applicant had withdrawn on December 10, 2010. The proposed site was in the city of Chula Vista in San Diego County on 13 acres of land near Otay Lakes County Park.
If approved by the Energy Commission, construction on the project would begin in 2013 with commercial operation starting in 2014.
More information on the Pio Pico Energy Center is available at: http://www.energy.ca.gov/sitingcases/piopico/index.html