After nearly two hours of testimony, the committee overseeing the Calico Solar project license decided to dedicate more time to considering a petition to deny modification of the project. During a June 8 hearing at the California Energy Commission, the Sierra Club objected to the plan by the project’s new developer, K Road Power, to modify the 663 MW of solar thermal Dish Stirling engines to 100 MW of Dish Stirling engines and 563 MW of single-axis tracker photovoltaic technology. The Sierra Club said that the proposed changes would result in Calico switching to at least 85 percent photovoltaic technology and that under the Warren-Alquist Act the California Energy Commission’s jurisdiction extends only to the construction and modification of thermal power plants over 50 MW. “The commission does not have the jurisdiction to process a PV application,” said Gloria Smith, a Sierra Club attorney. “The PV aspect of this [project] certainly swamps any thermal at this time.” The developer, however, countered that the intent of the law granting the Energy Commission’s authority is clear, even if some of the language isn’t precise. “I don’t think this is a question that was contemplated by the Legislature when they enacted the Warren-Alquist Act, that someone would be coming to you with a hybrid facility like this,” Ella Foley Gannon, an attorney for the applicant, told the committee during the hearing. “But I think it’s something that’s consistent with the intent of the Warren-Alquist Act, and it is not precluded by any language of the statute.” At the conclusion of the arguments, the Calico project’s hearing officer, Kourtney Vaccaro, said that the siting committee had agreed to study the matter and issue a ruling on the denial petition by July 1.