INFORMAL REQUEST FOR PROPOSALS
ON
THE BIOLOGICAL IMPACTS OF SOLAR ENERGY PROJECTS IN THE CALIFORNIA DESERT
Background and Purpose
The California Energy Commission is seeking proposals from the University of California, other public universities and local, regional, state and federal public agencies for research to help reduce the environmental impacts of solar energy projects in California, particularly with respect to biological impacts in the California desert.
Environmental review of recent solar applications has raised several unresolved issues related to the analysis and mitigation of biological impacts. Resource agencies typically recommend that unavoidable impacts to sensitive species be compensated through land acquisition at a ratio that offsets the impact (i.e., compensation land acreage equal to a multiplier of the impacted acreage). In the case of land-intensive solar development, acquiring sufficient acreage of available and appropriate habitat compensation lands is considered a daunting task fraught with logistical difficulties such as multiple landowner negotiations, unwilling sellers and increasingly limited availability of suitable acquisition lands. Alternative and innovative mitigation measures other than land acquisition are needed to offset negative impacts by California solar energy projects on special-status plants and animals and sensitive plant communities.
In addition to land acquisition, resource agencies typically require relocating sensitive wildlife species such as desert tortoise or burrowing owl to avoid direct construction impacts, and also frequently recommend mitigation measures in addition to land acquisition (for example, fencing, habitat restoration, changes in grazing practices, avoidance buffers for wildlife). The efficacy of these mitigation measures in avoiding or offsetting the biological impacts has yet to be firmly established through scientific study. The long-term consequences of translocation on species abundance and viability also need additional research. Another challenge in analyzing the biological resource impacts of solar development is the lack of detailed distribution information for sensitive plants and animals, which is needed to inform compensation land locations and to assess a solar project’s impacts in a rangewide perspective. Currently, for most sensitive desert species, biologists do not have science-based numerical thresholds for population viability upon which to assess impacts or recommend appropriate levels of mitigation. Research on what percentage of a sensitive species population can be impacted without affecting species or population viability is lacking. Moreover, establishing a methodology and widely accepted and biologically meaningful scope for cumulative impact analyses of solar development’s impacts on biological resources is also a challenge often encountered in the environmental review process.
Targeted Research Topics
Research on the following topics will help resolve some of the scientific uncertainties about the biological impact and mitigation of utility-scale solar energy development in California’s deserts, and will inform the process of project siting and development. This is a competitive grant solicitation sponsored by the California Energy Commission’s Public Interest Energy Research (PIER) Energy-Related Environmental Program to investigate one or more of the following:
A. Innovative mitigation strategies other than land acquisition that would effectively offset the negative impacts of California solar energy development on special-status species and sensitive plant communities; and/or rigorous validation of and/or improvements to frequently recommended mitigation measures (for example, habitat restoration, fencing, buffers for special-status species).
B. New or enhanced habitat suitability models that help to: predict the distribution of special-status plants and animals and sensitive plant communities within the Mojave and Colorado Desert regions; evaluate the impact of solar energy technologies, plant designs, and/or solar project site selection on special-status plants and animals and sensitive plant communities; and provide planning tools to assist in the siting, design, permitting, and mitigation of solar energy projects.
C. An improved impact assessment on species abundance and viability of relocating desert tortoise and/or other special-status plants and animals away from solar energy sites using currently established protocols; and/or develop improved protocols for relocation.
D. Numerical thresholds for viability of listed species populations (i.e., minimum viable population size) in regions within the Mojave and Colorado Desert regions targeted for utility scale solar energy development.
E. Framework for conducting cumulative impacts analysis of solar energy development on sensitive biological resources (i.e., a framework or methodology, not a comparison of actual project impacts).
Proposal Information
Deadline: Proposals are due March 15th, 2010.
Funding amount: Up to $1.0 million of PIER Electricity funding is available under this solicitation for grant awards. A minimum of $150,000 is available to applicants per grant project with a maximum award of up to $1.0 million. If a high number of exceptional, desirable projects are proposed, the Energy Commission may release additional funds to fund additional projects under this solicitation.
Eligibility: Only research groups associated with the University of California, California State University system or local, regional, state and federal public agencies are allowed to participate in this informal competition.
Proposal submittal and guidelines: A proposal (up to 12 pages long) should be submitted via e-mail to Ms. Misa Milliron (mward@energy.state.ca.us) by March 15th, 2009.
The proposal should address the following:
Project Summary that:
• Clearly describes the proposed research project and the current state of knowledge in the scientific area of the project.
• Clearly describes the purpose, scope and goals of the proposed research, and outlines the issues the project will address.
• Summarizes the technical approach and principal tasks required to accomplish project goals and objectives.
• Describes the relevant technical, siting, and implementation issues that must be addressed to accomplish project’s goals and objectives.
• Explains why the project is unique, and not duplicative.
• Describes the duration and schedule of the project.
• Clearly lists research deliverable(s)/result(s).
Research Topic that:
• Unequivocally belongs to at least one of the categories (A-E) identified above under Targeted Research Topics.
Categorical Budget that:
• Identifies labor, overhead, indirect, equipment ($5,000 or more), travel, miscellaneous expenses, subcontractors, and the total budget.
Research Team Qualifications:
• Identify principal members of the research team.
• Identify the applicable experience of the principal members of the research team.
Proof of Technical Feasibility, Reliability and Safety:
• The abstract demonstrates the feasibility of the proposed project, describes a robust methodology, and convincingly argues that the results of the proposed project will be highly relevant to renewable energy development in the desert, and resolving its environmental impacts. If prior data exists from previous work leading up to the proposed project it tells how to and where to access the validated, detailed data from this previous work.
Appropriate Site for Proposed Project
• The project has a committed research and/or demonstration site or workplace and provides a name and contact information to verify the availability of the location. The research and/or demonstration site where the project is to be carried out is consistent and appropriate to the proposed work.
• If the proposed project involves field work, the size, location, and environment of the research and/or demonstration site is suitable to meet the objectives of the proposed work.
Permitting Activities
• Lists any prior or planned activities related to the permitting of desert-based energy projects by the applicant, its employees, or any subcontractors used for this proposal. The applicant shall also list any agreements or working relationships with anyone who has a permit application for a desert-based energy development that will be pending at the time of the grant award; and/or that is contesting a permit for a desert-based energy development that will be pending at the time of the grant award.
Evaluation and Selection Process
The goal of this informal solicitation is to identify and fund research that will best address the identification and mitigation of biological impacts associated with utility scale solar energy development in the California deserts. Based upon an evaluation of the submitted proposals, the Energy Commission will request further information and/or select a winning proposal(s) and prepare the needed interagency agreement. This agreement will be based on the proposal; however, the Commission reserves the right to suggest some modifications. If an agreement cannot be reached between the parties, PIER reserves the right to work with the group that submitted the proposal with the next highest score until reaching a successful outcome.
Proposals will be evaluated based on the following criteria:
1. Proposal addresses specific research area listed in Targeted Research Topics (A-E above).
2. Proposed research uses robust methodology and identifies clear, meaningful, and measurable objectives.
3. The project description, products and due dates are reasonable and appropriate.
4. The project budget is reasonable and appropriate.
5. The principal investigator and the project team are well qualified to conduct the project.
6. Overall technical merit and degree to which the project is likely to succeed, including a consideration of the degree to which the proposal goes beyond the basic proposal requirements.
Energy Commission staff anticipate that researchers will be contacted with a decision or request for more information no later than March 26th.
For further information on this informal solicitation, please contact Misa Milliron (mward@energy.state.ca.us).