Section 25500.1

(a) The owner of a proposed solar thermal powerplant, for which an application for certification was filed with the commission after August 15, 2007, and certified by the commission and, of a project on federal land, for which a record of decision was issued by the Department of the Interior or the Bureau of Land Management before September 1, 2011, may petition the commission not later than June 30, 2012, to review an amendment to the facility’s certificate to convert the facility, in whole or in part, from solar thermal technology to photovoltaic technology, without the need to file an entirely new application for certification or notice of intent pursuant to Section 25502, provided that the commission prepares supplemental environmental review documentation, provides for public notice and comment on the supplemental environmental review, and holds at least one public hearing on the proposal.

(b) The Department of Fish and Game and the State Water Resources Board shall provide comments to the commission on the water resource and water quality effects of the proposed powerplants. The commission shall incorporate all feasible mitigation measures identified by the department and the board.

(c) For a facility specified in subdivision (a), this chapter shall continue to apply, notwithstanding that the facility or part of the facility would otherwise be excluded pursuant to Section 25120.

(d) The commission shall process a petition submitted under this section pursuant to Section 1769 of Title 20 of the California Code of Regulations.

(e) This section shall not apply to any project if the project’s certificate was timely challenged pursuant to Section 25531, unless the challenge was subsequently dismissed by the California Supreme Court.

(f) This section does not abrogate a party’s right to challenge a project’s certification pursuant to Section 25531 or any other provision of law.