New solar plant nears approval in California desert

By Carolyn Lochhead Originally appearing in SF Gate Despite serious environmental concerns, the California Energy Commission has given a preliminary green light to a second big solar project in the California desert by BrightSource Energy of Oakland. The proposed plant is the latest iteration of an increasingly controverial push by the Obama administration to subsidize giant solar plants in the Mojave Desert. The plant would be within a few miles of Joshua Tree National Park. The Palen solar plant would use the same technology as the company’s 5.4-square-mile Ivanpah facility in the Mojave that opened last spring with a $1.6 billion federal loan. The Ivanpah plant is the largest of its kind in the world, using concentrated light beams reflected from thousands of mirrors onto 40-story “power towers” that heat boilers to generate electricity. The Ivanpah plant has come under fire by U.S. Fish and Wildlife officials for igniting birds , butterflies and other objects that pass through the super-heated area of “solar flux.” New plan would use “power tower” technology used at Ivanpah facility above The state Energy Commission scaled back the company’s initial proposal to build two 750-foot towers at the proposed Palen plant, significantly taller than Ivanpah’s and just shy of the height of the Bank of America tower in San Francisco. It would have used 170,000 mirrors on about 3,800 acres of land. Instead, on Friday the commission approved one tower and 1,900 acres of mirrors, but left open the possibility of full expansion. The proposed plant is located between Indio and Blythe in Riverside County, near a migratory bird path between the Salton Sea and the Colorado River. The plan now has a 30-day comment period, after which the commission is expected to give final approval. The 1,122-page decision concedes that the project “will cause significant unmitigated impacts to biological, cultural, and visual resources,” but said the scaled-down version “feasibly lessens most of the … significant impacts while attaining most of the project’s objectives.” The commission found that the smaller plant “will still cause significant unmitigated (albeit reduced) impacts to biological, cultural, and visual resources.” It argued that these problems were overridden by the imperative to reduce global warming emissions and similar considerations. Former Joshua Tree National Park superintendent Mark Butler wrote in the Desert Sun newspaper that he has “witnessed many threats to our national treasures, but they pale in comparison” to the Palen project. “Even in a modified form, the Palen project will irrevocably harm Joshua Tree National Park’s sweeping scenic vistas, as well as migrating and protected bird species like the golden eagle that travel through the park,” Butler wrote. Seth Shteir, a California desert representative for the National Parks Conservation Association, called the decision “as dangerous as it is disheartening for wildlife, scenic vistas and our responsible renewable energy future. What was originally proposed as a photovoltaic project has morphed into a 750-foot-high tower and thousands of surrounding heliostats to be placed directly underneath the Pacific Flyway, a critical migratory pathway used by hundreds of bird species each year and just miles away from Joshua Tree National Park.” BrightSource spokeswoman Jennifer Rigney said, “We believe concentrating solar thermal technology can play an important role in helping California achieve its long-term clean energy goals. We are encouraged by the Committee’s proposed decision, which is based on the extensive record developed for this project.” BrightSource original plan for Palen solar plant Several industrial solar proposals and plants in California desert

Over 11K Stories!

| Independently Powered Energy News

New solar plant nears approval in California desert

dgrandyadmin

Related Posts

NRC focuses on Diablo closure, not extension, CPUC staff tout demand flexibility potential, New transmission coming to AZ-CA desert

Silicon Valley CCA to Provide Google 100% Clean Energy All Day, Every Day

Offshore wind & green h2 advance, utility home demand response programs need improvement, zinc batteries show promise

PG&E executives, CPUC official removed after inappropriate emails