CEC Approves Calico Solar Power Project Despite Strong Objections

The California Energy Commission (CEC) gave final approval for Tessera Solar LLC's 663 megawatt Calico Solar power project.  Dirty solar at its finest, the facility will be built on 7 square miles of pristine desert on public land, home to endangered desert tortoise, Mojave fringe-toed lizard and a rare plant called white-margined beardtongue.  You can read more about the ecological significance of the site on a previous post covering the testimony of desert expert Mr. Jim Andre.

The public land that will soon be destroyed for Tessera Solar's project
The Sierra Club issued strong testimony on the CEC's approval of the Calico Solar power project, according to transcripts from the 22 October CEC hearing, noting that the approval process violated the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) and the Warren-Alquist Act.  The Sierra Club claimed that the CEC's approval would be susceptible to "judicial review and reversal."  So far, no national environmental organization has shown leadership in correcting the current renewable energy strategy, which subsidizes energy companies that destroy pristine desert habitat.   Opposing destructive projects can help steer renewable energy development to land that is already disturbed, such as the Abengoa or Beacon Solar power projects which will be built on land previously used for agriculture.

The Tessera Solar project is eligible for Federal loan guarantees and grant money.  Tessera Solar is also responsible for the massive Imperial Valley Solar power project, which will also destroy Native American sites of cultural significance.

Comments

  1. MorongobillOctober 29, 2010 at 9:12 AM

    They could show strong leadership by acting on their "convictions." A lawsuit filed right now on behalf of the Mojave would go a long way in redressing their recent wrongs on these issues.

    But having morphed into an organization that shies away from the slightest possibility of conflict, I am sure the leadership will just issue more talking points in an effort to assuage the anger amongst their ranks.

    Yes, the wholescale raping and plundering of the Mojave has begun at long last, to the overwhelming indifference amongst groups that had they stayed true to their founding ideals, would now be going all out to stop it.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Shaun G.October 30, 2010 at 9:30 AM

    let's hope they come through, Bill. We need someone to take a stand, and they are one of the few organizations powerful enough to have an impact. In the meantime we will continue our grassroots awareness campaign.

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

How Many Plants Species in the Desert?

Would you expect that California's desert hosts gives the redwood forest a run for its money when it comes to plant biodiversity?  It's easy to take the desert for granted when all you want to do is zoom through it on the highway and get to your destination. But you are passing by an amazing and biologically diverse ecosystem.  There are at least 2,450 native plant species found in California's desert, according to a great article by Chris Clarke on desert life , posted at KCET. If you want to learn more about our amazing deserts, join Desert Biodiversity, a new organization dedicated to exploring, respecting and defending the deserts.
Read more

Mowing Vegetation as Mitigation: Trump Administration Practice Goes Unchallenged

Image
The Trump administration is again touting the practice of mowing thousands of acres of desert vegetation as environmentally-responsible, despite a preponderance of evidence to the contrary.  The draft environmental review of the Yellow Pine Solar project in southern Nevada claims that vegetation mowing - as opposed to bulldozing - will yield positive outcomes that are highly doubtful.   This positive framing of the construction practice misleads the public and decisionmakers and ignores decades of scientific research regarding the impacts of mechanized disturbance on desert wildlands.  According to the draft environmental review: "Mowing is becoming the standard on large site-type ROWs to prevent permanent impairment of public lands (as mandated by FLPMA) and in lieu of off-site mitigation... Mowing methods are designed to help preserve soils, biological soil crusts, soil seed banks, native perennial vegetation diversity and structure, and cacti and yucca species, and t...
Read more

Unlikely Allies: Trump Administration Joins Enviros to Plan Solar Project on Prime Tortoise Habitat

Image
The Trump Administration this month released an assessment that concludes that a solar developer can crush and mow vegetation across several square miles of prime desert tortoise habitat, and still consider those lands as viable habitat for the species.  The silence of some national-level environmental groups regarding the unconventional and unscientific conclusion appears to signal their comfort taking risks with a species already facing significant peril, as well as these groups' inability to champion more sustainable locations to generate clean energy in Nevada. The biological opinion released by the Trump Administration constitutes the official position of the Fish and Wildlife Service regarding the impacts of the proposed Gemini Solar project; its curious willingness to declare heavily disturbed lands as viable tortoise habitat was necessary for the project's approval because the project would be built on lands that have been identified as a vital habitat linkage sustai...
Read more