Panoche Valley Solar Farm Biological Resources EIR Support
Project Summary
Integral staff developed the biological impact and mitigation section of the Environmental Impact Report for the 420-MW Panoche Valley Solar Farm, sited within an area designated as an Important Bird Area of global significance. The project’s EIR won an Outstanding Environmental Analysis Document award from the Association of Environmental Planners.
Location: San Benito County, California
Key Personnel
Brian Boroski, Ph.D. Managing Principal, Business Director – Ecological Science and Design
Challenge
The project site sat within a USFWS-designated recovery plan area for special-status species, requiring an approach that could withstand rigorous agency and public scrutiny. Addressing biological impacts in an area of global significance for bird conservation meant the environmental planning and assessment work needed a defensible, literature-backed record given the site’s ecological sensitivity.
Our Role
Integral staff reviewed relevant literature, database searches, and site survey findings to determine which special-status species were known to occur or could potentially occur on site, and provided independent peer review of a partner ecological firm’s analysis. The final report summarized environmental impacts, significance determinations, and mitigation measures related to biological resources.
What We Delivered & Results
The completed EIR earned an Outstanding Environmental Analysis Document award from the Association of Environmental Planners, reflecting the rigor of the underlying biological resources analysis and the independent peer review that strengthened its credibility.