ElectricMotorcycleForum.com
General Category => General Discussion => Topic started by: Richard230 on February 28, 2011, 05:57:59 AM
-
That is the title of a long article in my newspaper today, written by Todd Woodly of the New York Times. The article says that several large solar power projects proposed to be built in Southern California, which have received their construction permits, are being hit by lawsuits from environmentalists and Indian tribes. The article also mentions that on January 25, Solar Millennium withdrew its 16-month old application for a 250 MW solar station, citing regulator's concerns over the project's impact on the Mohave ground squirrel.
At peak output the 5 solar projects would create enough power for 2 million homes, create thousands of construction jobs and help the State meet its aggressive renewable energy mandates. But these projects are being challenged by environmentalists over their impact on the desert tortoises and by Indian tribes on the impact to their "Native American culture and environment".
The lawsuits are impacting the builders' ability to get both private and government funding. Only BrightSource Energy has obtained a government loan guarantee and has begun construction.
The article goes into a lot more detail about these lawsuits and it doesn't sound too hopeful that they will be resolved any time in the near future.