Solar Power Company Gets Approval to Implement Its Development Plan on Rural Residential Los Angeles County Land

A rectangular shaped parcel of just over 200 acres at 100th Street West and Ave H has won preliminary approval for solar development by the City of Lancaster planning commission. TA High Desert LLC (Tuusso Energy) plans to construct of a 20 megawatt solar photovoltaic electric generation facility on rural residential zoned land in Los Angeles County. This land has been typically vacant land or farm land, but the green energy economy has changed the future for rural Los Angeles land.
The location is designated NU (Non-Urban Residential) by the General Plan and is zoned RR 2.5 (Rural Residential 2.5 one dwelling unit per 2.5 acres), and this site is currently unused. This proposed project would operate year round with a production of up to 20 megawatts of renewable electric power during daytime hours. Tuusso Energy has a 20 year agreement with Southern California Edison to supply electricity generated by the proposed project. The project needs to clear a few environmental, biological, and mitigation steps.
The environmental review documents have disclosed no significant adverse impacts resulting from the proposed project after mitigation measures have been applied.
The photovoltaic panels and trackers are silent and low profile of six feet to eight feet depending on the position of the sun, so visual impact would be minimal. In order to further reduce any impacts, Tuusso Energy would install a line of trees along Avenue I and H, 100th Street West, and 97th Street West that would provide additional screening of the site. Additionally, two biological resource surveys were conducted for the location which found approximately 160 acres of potential foraging habitat within 10 miles of a hawk’s nest, thus the removal of the 200 acres of potential foraging habitat would be minimal. Also, mitigation measures are required to ensure that impacts to biological resources remain less than significant. Once these mitigation measures are taken the board found that the potential impacts to any special status species would be reduced. They also indicated that the projects construction and materials will not pose any environmental hazard to the local community.
This project appears to have met all the necessary requirements for implementation, and it was done in under a year. The landscape of Antelope Valley has been rapidly changing, and this exercise shows the potential for profits outside of typically residential building can be found in the valley as the State moves to green energy.

Los Angeles County Attracts Another Renewable Energy Project As Antelope Valley and Agricultural Land Benefit with the Development

Another Solar company is taking up roots in Antelope Valley. Tuusso Energy headquartered in Seattle Washington with a medium size project, which can power up to 15 thousand homes and connects directly to existing transmission lines. The proposed location is on LA County land and it is a rectangle shaped area at 100th Street West running north to south from Ave H to approximately Ave I-8. This area is just south of the community of Antelope Acres, and it is just north of Edison power lines that cris-cross the western valley. Their technology uses photovoltaic panels which look very similar to rooftop panels. The benefits with photovoltaic’s are that they use a limited amount of water and they are low profile as they stand just a few feet above the ground.

Tuusso’s project proposal has been underway for a year and they are currently conducting environmental studies with Los Angeles County and local government agencies. As part of the environmental impact, they have targeted dormant agricultural land away from any current major development. It is not known if this land has been previously disturbed land, or simply vacant agricultural land. The environmental impact may be the biggest hurdle to overcome as the State and local governments are favorable to renewable energy projects, but environmentalists prefer limited change. The production is expected to begin later this year and run through early 2011. Lancaster Ca. has proposed a number of zoning changes within the city limits to entice alternative energy projects within its boundaries, so many more projects are sure to arise.

This is the fourth and separately planned renewable energy project on LA County land in the Antelope Valley. It is sure to change the landscape dramatically, but change for the valley will be good for the economy and community. The agricultural land targeted is a big bonanza for the long-term land banker. This area was vacant land for decades caught between power lines, and a pocket of custom homes. It further highlights that agricultural zoned pre-developed land provides a great investment opportunity. These Solar Companies are capturing lower real estate prices during this downturn, and it is a good time for new investors to take advantage of this land banking opportunity also.

Los Angeles County Lands Best Renewable Sustainable Project with a Patented Solar Complex built on Pre-Developed Industrial Land

Power Engineering magazine announced this past December the selection of E-Solar’s Sierra SunTower facility as the winner of "Best Renewable and Sustainable Project" at the 2009 Projects of the Year Awards. This is an annual award where Power Engineering magazine recognizes the world's best projects in the four major categories, gas-fired, coal-fired, nuclear and renewable. The new solar power facility is the first of its kind in California.

E-Solar unveiled Sierra SunTower, which is their 5 MW commercial-scale solar power plant, in August 2009. It is located just 60 miles north of downtown Los Angeles in Lancaster California. The solar complex runs along Avenue G in the northern part of the city. This renewable energy facility captures the suns energy to produce super-heated steam with an average operating temperature of 800°F at a pressure of 900 psi, which it delivers through a turbine generator to Southern California Edison. Their patented technology uses Pre-fabricated modular units that are scalable to fit smaller or larger parcels of land to suit their power client’s requirements. This project was developed on a small parcel of land close to existing transmission lines, and it is the first of several planned in Antelope Valley, California.

This is one part of the City of Lancaster’s 2030 General Plan to create fertile ground for renewable energy projects. The planning department has approved of thousands of additional acres of heavy and light industrial land as a target area for these types of projects. They plan to further expand this area by amending the zoning to absorb rural residential and agricultural zoned land for heavy industrial use. This would be the largest expansion of Los Angeles County land into city zoning in decades. It is also one of the best means for a land investor to get a rapid return on their investment.

It is paramount for land investors and land bankers to buy land near developing areas such as Lancaster and Palmdale California. The closer you are to development the more likely development will reach your parcel. In many cases the initial investment can be more, but the return on investment could be shorter term. We have spoken to vacant land owners who purchased remote desert land far from development and they are unfortunately still holding decades after their initial investment. Don’t let it happen to you, as the real estate slogan goes location, location, location also applies to pre-developed land.