California Code, Public Resources Code - PRC § 25540.6

(a) Notwithstanding any other provision of law, no notice of intention is required, and the commission shall issue its final decision on the application, as specified in Section 25523, within 12 months after the filing of the application for certification of the powerplant and related facility or facilities, or at any later time as is mutually agreed by the commission and the applicant, for any of the following:

(b) Projects exempted from the notice of intention requirement pursuant to paragraph (1), (4), or (5) of subdivision (a) shall include, in the application for certification, a discussion of the applicant's site selection criteria, any alternative sites that the applicant considered for the project, and the reasons why the applicant chose the proposed site.  That discussion shall not be required for cogeneration projects at existing industrial sites.  The commission may also accept an application for a noncogeneration project at an existing industrial site without requiring a discussion of site alternatives if the commission finds that the project has a strong relationship to the existing industrial site and that it is therefore reasonable not to analyze alternative sites for the project.