The timing no doubt was coincidence, but while Interior Secretary Sally Jewell was celebrating the country's largest solar project in California, two U.S. senators were introducing legislation to protect desert landscapes in the state.
The irony wasn't lost on the National Parks Conservation Association, which has questioned the location of the solar farm.
“There is a lot of celebrating today in the California desert. Senator Feinstein released the California Desert Conservation and Recreation Act and Sally Jewell flipped the on-switch at Desert Sunlight Solar plant. The confluence of these events highlights the important work that remains to be done in the California desert," said David Lamfrom, NPCA's California Desert associate director. "That includes permanently protecting some of the most beautiful and vibrant lands in America and the continued need to do a better job of siting renewable energy away from species-rich lands. Considering how important our national parks and protected lands are to our desert economy, finding this balance now is fundamental.”
Earlier Monday, the Interior secretary and the director of the Bureau of Land Management Neil Kornze joined California state and industry leaders to “flip the switch” on the Desert Sunlight Solar Farm. Now operating at full capacity, the Desert Sunlight Solar Farm is providing 550 megawatts of electricity to the grid, enough energy to power 160,000 average homes. The facility is estimated to displace 300,000 tons of carbon dioxide per year – the equivalent to taking 60,000 cars off the road.
“Solar projects like Desert Sunlight are helping to create American jobs, develop domestic renewable energy and cut carbon pollution,” said Secretary Jewell. “I applaud the project proponents for their vision and entrepreneurial spirit to build this solar project and commend Governor Brown for implementing policies that take action on climate change and help move our nation toward a renewable energy future.”
Desert Sunlight is the sixth solar project approved on public lands that is now operational. Together with wind, solar and geothermal, the renewable energy projects built on public lands since 2009 are producing over 2,200 megawatts of power, or enough to power almost 700,000 average homes. An additional 2,500 megawatts is currently under construction, including eight solar projects in California and Nevada.
Desert Sunlight is located on about 4,100 acres managed by the BLM in Riverside County, about 70 miles east of Palm Springs and six miles north of the rural community of Desert Center. The facility uses more than eight million First Solar photovoltaic modules to generate power with no air emissions, no waste production and no water use. The thin film technology has the smallest carbon footprint of any photovoltaic technology. The renewable energy is sold to Pacific Gas & Electric Company and Southern California Edison under long-term contracts.
As part of the Interior Department’s commitment to responsible development of renewable energy, the Desert Sunlight project underwent extensive environmental review and mitigation. The BLM worked in close coordination with Desert Sunlight, the National Park Service and other stakeholders to significantly reduce the proposed project’s total footprint down from the proposed 19,000 acres. The BLM is requiring that Desert Sunlight provide funding for acquisition and enhancement of more than 7,500 acres of suitable habitat for desert tortoise and other sensitive wildlife species to help mitigate the project’s potential impacts.
Also on Monday, Sens. Dianne Feinstein and Barbara Boxer, both California Democrats, introduced legislation that would expand by 75,000 acres the Mojave National Preserve and Death Valley and Joshua Tree national parks.
“This piece of legislation is the final chapter in a long effort to preserve one of the most magnificent landscapes in the United States,” Sen. Feinstein said. “We must ensure that critical parts of the California desert—with its mountain vistas, bighorn sheep, mule deer, desert tortoises, Joshua trees, Native American petroglyphs and much more—will be protected for all time.”
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Why does everyone persist in calling wind and solar installations "farms?" They are not farms; they are industrial slums. There. You see what I just did? Stopped playing The Emperor's New Clothes. Industrializing the remainder of America's open space in the name of "green energy" is not going to solve a thing. Rooftop solar? Maybe. But even there, nothing on this earth comes for "free." You want water power? You lose the canyons. You lose fish runs and white water. You want green energy? You lose gobs of landscape--and wildlife habitat. Oh, yeah, we get to keep the national parks. But every vista from every mountain top is about to come with thousands of blinking red lights--and glare. Fly out of Las Vegas and look south to the Ivanpah thermal solar "farm." The glare can be seen for 100 miles.
You're dreaming, good people. And enabling. "When we invent this, we will have paradise." Well, please "invent" it first. Right now, all that is happening is the destruction of paradise. Take a ride west and see for yourselves.
Alfred Runte, I do see your point. I was reading an interesting article by James Hustave Speth, founder of NRDC, advisor to both Presidents Carter and Clinton, administrator of the UN Development Program, dean of the Yale University School of Forestry and Environmental Studies and now a professor at Vermont Law School. A very thought provoking article and touches on both your and Dr. Botkins posts. Quite a discussion on his experience at the UN and the overwhelming poverty and environmental degradation he observed traveling to many different nations. In any case an interesting read.
rmackie,
If you come across a link to the article, would you post it? It does sound interesting.
Agreed - but here in Breck even calling them solar farms is not PC. They are solar
"gardens".
So why not encourage more and more people to install panels on their roofs. I just noticed a new condo or apartment complex this afternoon that has panels on the roofs of all their carports.
Instead, we have Koch funded ALEC pushing state legislatures to pass laws that will penalize people who do so. A few states have already passed their prefabricated "suggestions" into law.
Because as of yet, without subsidies, it is uneconomic in most cases.
More strawmen or do you have specific examples? I think in reality you are showing your basic lack of understanding of economics or intentionally misrepresenting the facts.
Such a surprise, Lee. Koch is looking for anything to either encourage consumption of their products or discourage alternatives to their products.
It helps them to have bought and paid for most of Congress.
Lee, I priced solar for my home here in Seattle. The estimate came to $24,000. My electric bill averages $100 per month. That would take me 20 years to recoup my investment. As for the Koch Brothers, I consider them "code," much like Xerxes was to the Greeks. The Persians are coming! The Persians are coming! Well, it sure made a bundle for all of the Greeks selling war supplies.
Forget the Koch Brothers and focus on the real issue: If green energy is so efficient, why does it need so many euphemisms to sell it--to say nothing of the subsidies? Why do people promote what they have not yet invented, as if the invention is sure to occur? Elmer Gantry would understand, but why must we understand? When government assisted the railroads, it was a proven invention. Why must the taxpayers "assist" what requires constant backup, i.e., the gas-fired turbines placed right next door?
I know; fossil fuels are subsidized, too. That doesn't make wind and solar "right." The batteries are coming, we hear. Well, I want to see them first. I know batteries, and I fail to see how any battery could store enough to light a city. Just north of us, one county public utility just announced its battery farm this way: "It stores enough electricity to light 400 homes for an hour!" In other words, it is next to worthless, since the county has 500,000 souls. Certainly, the utility did not say that 20 homes could be lighted for 24 hours. You mean to say that one battery--the size of a shipping container--can do no better than that? Even if those "new" batteries come along, how many will it take?
I am not prepared to give up my public lands because Xerxes might be on his way. As for Elmer Gantry, he is already here. Trust me! Believe me! Now, pardon me while I pass the plate. In my case, I already contributed. I believe he called himself the Wizard of Oz. He said that cancer would be cured by now. He said that an atomic pill would run my car. He said that by 2000 no one would have to work a day. He said that people would live 200 years. He said there would be fusion, just like the sun. He said we would colonize the moon.
He said, and he said, and he said. But all I keep seeing is the plate. The Koch Brothers? They are amateurs in the game of misleading the public. We have perfected that all by ourselves.