Thread: CA. O.K.s 9 square mile solar project

State OKs big Imperial solar project

Originally published September 29, 2010 at 3:59 p.m., updated September 29, 2010 at 4:34 p.m.

The California Energy Commission Wednesday approved a plan to cover nine square miles of federal land in the Imperial Valley with dishes pointed at the sun making electricity for San Diego.

The commission unanimously decided that while the Imperial Valley Solar project will forever change the desert landscape, the damage it will cause is worth it to move the state closer to getting a third of its power from sources like the sun and wind.

"Today's actions show how California is leading the nation by licensing nearly 3,000 megawatts this year with large-scale solar power plants," said Commission Chair Karen Douglas.

The commission also approved a 250-megawatt solar project 25 miles east of Blythe.

The state's utilities are required to get a third of their power from such "renewable" sources by 2020.

When the sun is shining, the Imperial project will produce 709 megawatts, or about 20 percent of what San Diego Gas & Electric sells to its customers at the peak of a typical day.

SDG&E has agreed to buy the output from the project, and is counting on construction of the controversial Sunrise Powerlink to get that power to San Diego.

Developers have been pushing for approval of big solar projects because they have to begin construction before the end of the year in order to get federal grants.

The project, known as Imperial Valley Solar, still needs approval from the Bureau of Land Management, which controls most of the land on which it would be built.

The Imperial project will rely on Stirling engines powered heat from the sun that will then drive small generators. The technology was developed over a century ago but has not gained widespread use.

The project was opposed by Indians who fear it will damage sacred sites and conservationists who say it will destroy unique landscapes which are home to bighorm sheep and a rare reptile, the flat-tailed horned lizard.

"It's a classic example of a good project in the wrong place," said Ileene Anderson, a biologist with the Center for Biological Diversity. "We clearly need to get on renewable energy and get off of fossil fuels ... but we don't have to destroy species."

The project is being built by Tessera Solar and Stirling Energy Systems, subsidiaries of an Irish conglomerate. The companies said this week that they had abandoned a 250-megawatt project in Phoenix because they had trouble finding financing and a buyer for the power, according to the Phoenix Business Journal.

http://www.signonsandiego.com/news/2010 ... r-project/

"The commission unanimously decided that while the Imperial Valley Solar project will forever change the desert landscape, the damage it will cause is worth it to move the state closer to getting a third of its power from sources like the sun and wind. ....
The project was opposed by Indians who fear it will damage sacred sites and conservationists who say it will destroy unique landscapes which are home to bighorm sheep and a rare reptile, the flat-tailed horned lizard. "

____


What bunch of dunderheads. And the same people are insisting on taking out 5 dams that are near me, producing the cleanest, cheapest power available, because of a fish and the Indian tribes (that's their excuse).

But they don't mind steppin' on them when they want to. Will people ever figure out we are ALL dispensable to these bureaucrats?

France has miles and miles of solar crap. They say that the environmental impact is very detrimental to the environment. Look at the light bulbs they are going to make us use. They are more environmentally harmful than the incandecent bulbs.

Sources of power that help make the U.S. less dependent on oil from other companies is a great way to help our country.