Endangered Desert Tortoise Must Flee the Advance of Solar
solar.calfinder.com
Our first Solar Refugee? That’s what it looks like for tortoises residing on a 3,700-acre stretch of land in California’s Mojave Desert. The bulldozers are coming once again to stamp down the bare-earth footprint of mankind. But this time it’s not the trees they’re after, nor the oil; it’s the sunlight.
The Ivanpah Solar Energy Generating System will be located on land administered by the Bureau of Land Management (BLM). Technically the acreage in question is not protected as critical habitat for the tortoises, although it has been confirmed that some of the creatures do live there. Before construction (or destruction) on the land begins, California’s state reptiles will be moved to surrounding areas that are still protected. Sounds good…
But some environmentalists are arguing for some reparations for the tortoises. First there is the issue of translocating. A recent op-ed in the San Bernardino Sun implied a high risk of mortality in moving desert tortoise populations. Secondly, protected or not, you are removing nearly 4,000 acres of habitable land from the tortoises. Solar Partners, the subsidiary of BrightSource Energy that will construct the solar plant, is offering a 1:1 compensation. That is for every acre of habitat destroyed, they will acquire one acre of land as future habitat.
Again, it sounds pretty fair, but the issue gets more complex. The Ivanpah region is considered valuable habitat, or prime real estate, for the desert tortoise. So if the proposed replacement habitat does not meet equal standards of living, should not the ratio of compensation to eradication be higher? In his op-ed, Professor G. Sidney Silliman of Cal Poly Ponoma suggests a ratio of 5:1.
While the desert tortoise is endangered, and so gets the most attention, there is a wealth of other creatures and plant life that will be affected by erasing 3,700 acres of desert landscape. Proponents claim that precautions will be taken (i.e., moving the tortoises) and that there is plenty of land in the deserts of the Southwest. But with over hundreds of thousands of acres up for lease by solar companies in the area, these first few California power plants are just the start.
It would be easier to take the stance that Big Solar and the California leaders are claiming, that there’s no time for dilly-dallying, we need solar NOW, as if there weren’t oodles of available rooftops and urban spaces for solar power plants available that would have minimal impact on the environment and avoid a host of other issues; lack of available transmission infrastructure being just one.
When we first discovered oil, it too was considered an unending resource. We just ran out there and started drilling holes all over the place without much thought for longevity or the environment. We have now seen the repercussions of that mentality. Solar power may be a more definite renewable resource, but that is no reason to chase fortune without temperance. The environmental controversy behind proposed desert solar power plants does not start and stop with the desert tortoise either.
Posted on December 29th in Solar Politics by Dan.
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7 Responses to “Endangered Desert Tortoise Must Flee the Advance of Solar” Total Solar Energy Says:
January 8th, 2009 at 1:45 pm We must do all we can to protect the natural habitat when building these large solar arrays. However, there is also a balance to achieve here. If we thought too much about things like this, we’d still be living in caves.
Jesse Hunter Says:
February 8th, 2009 at 11:30 pm TSE,
It’s kind of funny that you posed thinking too much onto the caveman…
However, those who have the talent and inclination should be employed to thoroughly think about energy, industrialization, population, biosphere issues.
I’m arguing on another blog against $50 billion in loan guarantees for new nukes.
Enriching Sacrifices
I agree that the first steps don’t require Mega Solar-
building weatherization; appliance/lighting upgrades, passive house design; ground-source heat pumps; roads-to-rail; biking; reducing meat intake to healthier levels or going veggie/ vegan; victory/community gardens, tele-commuting for those who can; localized solar PV & hot water on homes & businesses; large PV on commercial structures, parking lots; TRANSITION TOWNS; utility scale Wind, Solar, Geothermal also have their place;
I love the SW deserts and have camped for many a night in them. My hope is that after we build these two mega Solar projects the arguments of funding new nukes will be finished, and of funding oil wars. We shouldn’t say that if one loves the tortoise one favors spreading DU across Iraq to poison generations of living things forever, but we have done that for energy.
I support those who oppose mega solar projects in their area or even in principal only. But if they oppose it with more energy than they do an oil war, a new nuke, mountaintop removal, and yet still use power, drive, eat non-home growns, I’d be less convinced. And while one hundred, two hundred or more miles is not local power, it is far more local than Saudi Arabian oil, Nigerian LNG, or Australian uranium.
We are definitely in a tough spot. I hope we can aim to choose the most enriching sacrifices.
claudia sall Says:
February 17th, 2009 at 2:02 pm let’s remind folks to look at the blm map of the california desert: it’s ALL of southern california. desert residents are being asked to sacrifice their quality of life while the urban centers won’t put these arrays in their own yards. the only reason there is this huge propaganda directed at politicians and legislators to industrialize the desert is because of dollars: the blm land out here is almost free to use. if they built where the sun also shines in la, long beach, san diego etc, the land would have to be purchased. so is this about all the renewable energy zones in the california desert, or free land for corporations. i for one have had enough of enron-type corporate welfare.
EnergyRevolution Says:
August 20th, 2009 at 5:36 am How many men and maritime animals the Oilmadness costs their live, nobody asks that question?
Look at these pictures and remember them the next time you’re at the pump!
http://www.thewe.cc/thewei/_/images11/insanity/remains_of_us_soldier.jpe
http://www.thewe.cc/thewei/_/images11/us_invasion_2007/burnt_body.jpe
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/8208735.stm
http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601087&sid=aopISlYo9TyE
You worry about the desert tortoise and mojave ground squirrel which will have 95% of desert remaining after all the energy is supplied by solar thermal power plants in the south west …
Sorry but it is only a matter of time until the broad public understands thatconcentrated solar thermal power plants and a high voltage dc transmission grid are the gentlest and in the long run cheapes way to provide our sociey with clean energy !!!
The ridiculously high cost of nuclear power
http://www.salon.com/tech/htww/2009/07/15/the_ridiculously_high_cost_of_nuclear_power/index.html
To date, parabolic trough technology provides the best performance and lowest cost of all types of solar power plants.
…
Since the first 14 MW trough plant was installed in California in the early 1980s, generating costs have dropped from 45 cents/kWh (in 2005 dollars) to 9–12 cents/kWh (competitive with peak power). Costs are expected to drop to 4–7 cents/kWh by 2020.
http://www.nrel.gov/csp/pdfs/american_energy_pg30_desertsolar.pdf
http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601087&sid=aopISlYo9TyE
Change this planet and unleash the Solar Millennium!!!
When Green Goals collide « The moon in daylight Says:
March 5th, 2010 at 3:36 pm [...] wild hogs?! Next time someone wants to build one of these things I hope they find a snail darter, desert tortoise or spotted owl. William Tucker, in The Unbearable Lightness of Solar Power at The Corner, writes: [...]
randy Says:
August 27th, 2010 at 11:58 am I hear about all the flack about these animals that can be moved,What about cleaner air for these animals?And for our children,I just cant believe the ignorance of some people!I see the pollution in the sky of Las vegas,and other cities.If our air isnt cleaned up we wont have to worry about the tortises because we are going to all die of Asthma or cancer!
Southern California Desert: Solar Central | Green Energy Global - Daily Green Energy News Says:
July 24th, 2011 at 8:52 am [...] There also are environmental concerns with projects this big, including the existence of endangered species. In this case, the solar operators will have to relocate native desert tortoises. [...]
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