January 15, 2021
Attorney Alleges "Horrifying" Behavior By Intersect Executives
The behavior by executives from Intersect Power (the company behind the Aramis industrial solar power plant) toward elderly North Livermore Valley residents Leland Richard Stanley and Mary Stanley was "horrifying," an attorney for the Stanleys alleged this week in a letter to the Alameda County Counsel.

The attorney for the Stanleys alleges that in February 2020 Intersect Power induced the Stanleys to sign an application to the Alameda County Planning Department for a permit to develop the Aramis project based on the representations that
  • the land owner’s signature was necessary merely for Intersect Power to investigate the feasibility of a solar project on the property, and
  • that their signature on the application did not bind the Stanleys to grant Intersect Power any lease or any other right in their land.

In July 2020, Intersect Power provided the Stanleys a 40-page, proposed lease agreement for the use of their property for its Aramis industrial solar power plant. The attorney for the Stanleys made nearly 500 changes and comments to the lease.

Despite this, the attorney for the Stanleys alleges that Intersect Power executives traveled to North Livermore last month and met the Stanleys in person at their home - without informing the Stanleys' attorney and receiving consent for the meeting.

Over the course of 5 hours, the Intersect Power executives allegedly sought to pressure the Stanley into signing a lease that contained virtually none of the changes in the lease that counsel for the Stanleys had provided in July.

Fortunately, the Stanleys did not sign the lease agreement and, instead, contacted their attorney. After consulting with their attorney, the Stanleys terminated any lease and all negotiations with Intersect Power.

The Stanley Ranch is located at 4400 North Livermore Avenue. Intersect Power included 38 acres of the Stanley property in its project application and maps, but as explained by the Stanley attorney never had a lease for the Stanley property. This means that the Aramis project description slated to go before the Board of Supervisors in February is now inaccurate.

“It is remarkable that Intersect would indicate it had secured all the property to develop its Aramis project when that clearly was not the case. This casts doubt on all other assurances Intersect Power has made concerning the project,” stated Chris O’Brien, chair of the Save North Livermore Valley steering committee.

“Given how much the project has changed, if Intersect Power still wants to move forward, it will have to submit an amended permit application and undergo a revised environmental study,” said O’Brien. “This simply is no longer the same project that hundreds of concerned citizens – and the East County Board of Zoning Adjustments – reviewed – and it cannot go to the Board of Supervisors as-is.”

“If anything Intersect Power says can be taken seriously, the loss of the Stanley property also means the Aramis project is no longer economically viable. Marisa Mitchell of Intersect Power has stated publicly on numerous occasions that the Aramis project needs all of its planned acreage for the project to work,” stated Robert Selna, legal counsel for Save North Livermore Valley.
Numerous environmental organizations and public agencies that have criticized the massive Aramis industrial solar power plant and/or Alameda County’s flawed solar planning process. Documents from each of these organizations and agencies are posted on our website.
A View That Will No Longer Exist
The fields and much of the hills along Manning Road in North Livermore Valley behind this sign will not be visible from the road if the Aramis project is built. Large bushes will be planted and fencing constructed obstructing the public's view. The fields themselves will be converted into endless rows of 8-foot tall solar arrays.

This is one example of how the Aramis Project will destroy the North Livermore scenic corridor.
Our Valley is Turning Green
Guess what a little bit of rain in December and January does? Oats, wheat hay and natural grasses start to grow, turning North Livermore Valley green. This photo was taken on Saturday, January 9, 2021, looking toward the hills at the northern portion of the valley.
The Aramis project will convert hundreds of acres of North Livermore Valley into an industrial zone

As shown in the visualization above, 320,000, eight-foot-tall solar panels will spread across 360 acres of agricultural land on a total project area of 660 acres. Miles of new internal access roads, security fences, and overhead transmission lines, some on towers 10 stories high, will be constructed.

No solar power plant of the magnitude of the Aramis project exists in the San Francisco Bay Area.

On five acres, the land will be excavated and concrete will be poured to serve as the foundation for a new electrical power station, water tanks and scores of flammable, trailer-truck size lithium-ion battery stations.

Contact County Officials Today
Please click the green button above to contact new Supervisor David Haubert, the other supervisors and Alameda County staff. Please add a subject line, such as Reject the Aramis Solar Power Plant, and your name and city of residence to the end of your message.

Here is suggested text you can cut and paste into your email message:

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Dear Board of Supervisors and County Officials:

The scenic beauty, natural habitat and open space of North Livermore Valley belong to all of us and must be preserved for future generations. I respectfully request that you reject the Aramis solar project for the following reasons:

1) The Aramis project will destroy North Livermore Valley's scenic beauty by permanently altering the visual character of the area from open farm and ranchland to a massive utility-scale solar power plant. No method exists to hide or obscure the visual assault on the valley from the Aramis project's 300,000+ eight-foot tall solar panels, new electrical substation, scores of lithium-ion battery stations, and overhead electrical transmission lines on towers, some reaching ten stories high.

These facts are not in dispute. The Final Environmental Impact Report found that the Aramis project will have “a substantial adverse effect on a scenic vista." Even with landscaping, the report concluded that the adverse aesthetic impact remains “significant and unavoidable.”
 
2) The Aramis project will obliterate habitat for numerous special status species including the California tiger salamander, California red-legged frog and Western burrowing owl. The agricultural land also serves as a wildlife corridor important to maintaining the biodiversity of Alameda and Contra Costa Counties. 

3) The Aramis project violates Measure D. Under voter-approved Measure D, the agricultural lands of Alameda County, including North Livermore, are to be preserved, enhanced and protected from “excessive, badly located and harmful development.” Commercial electricity power generation does not exist today in North Livermore Valley and solar power plants are not an agricultural use of the land. 

4) The Aramis project will not uniquely bring more renewable energy to Alameda County residents. Seventy-five percent of the power from the Aramis project is under contract to San Francisco. Alameda County can generate greater renewable energy and preserve scarce, environmentally important agricultural land through the installation of solar panels on rooftops of home and businesses, over parking lots and next to freeways. 

5) Alameda County should first deliver on its commitment to produce a comprehensive solar policy. At a minimum, Alameda County should complete a solar mapping project and study to determine what areas pose the least conflict with wildlife habitat, open space and agricultural land before authorizing any industrial solar power plants in its rural areas. 
  
In conclusion, North Livermore Valley is designated as an agricultural district and should remain one. Please reject the application of the Aramis solar power plant and lithium-ion battery station. 
Aramis Project in the News & Community Letters




The Beauty of Our Valley
Just a short drive or bike ride from the City of Livermore and north of Highway 580, the North Livermore Valley has been zoned for agricultural and rural residential uses since the 1950s.

For nearly the same period Alameda County has recognized North Livermore Avenue in its General Plan as a scenic corridor and sought to preserve the area’s outstanding scenic quality. 

About Save North Livermore Valley

We started as a group of farm and ranch families and other members of the North Livermore Valley Rural Community. We have been joined by over 250 concerned residents in the City of Livermore and Tri-Valley area united for the purpose of preserving the open space, agricultural land and wildlife habitat of North Livermore Valley for future generations.