FEDERAL JUDGE HALTS FIRST LARGE-SCALE SOLAR PROJECT ON PUBLIC LANDS

East County Magazine ^ | December 17, 2010 | Miriam Raftery

[NRG1973]

Local and statewide activists battling massive energy projects on public lands are praising a decision issued by U.S. District Court Judge Larry Burns yesterday, while the CEO of Tessera Solar says he is "deeply disappointed" in the ruling.

The federal Judge issued a temporary restraining order halting construction on the first massive desert solar project authorized on public lands—a project that if built, would be one of the largest solar power plants in the world.

The Court ruled that the U.S. Bureau of Land Management failed to adequately consult with the tribe regarding protection of 459 cultural resources identified at 300 locations on the site in Imperial County. Burns noted that the BLM’s draft environmental impact statement found that the project “may wholly or partially destroy all archaeological sites on the surface of the project area.”

The 10-mile-long project would entail scraping 6,000 acres of the desert floor and installing massive parabolic mirrored Sun Catchers made by Stirling Energy Systems. The project could produce 1,000 MW of power by 2012 and is slated to provide power to be transmitted over SDG&E’s Sunrise Powerlink lines through San Diego’s East County.

[NRG1973]

This is the problem with some of the green energy projects. Solar and Windpower are not as energy dense as coal, nuclear and natural gas fired power plants. That is the amount of square feet per MW used by these forms (solar & wind) of energy are greater than the traditional (coal, nuclear & gas) forms of energy generation. That is they take up more real estate per MW generated. So large scale solar and windpower will always be affected to a greater extent by NIMBYs and BANANAs even if they are "cleaner".

[maddog55]

I don't know why, it's good for the environment:

[rottndog]

Hey greenies....

[maine yankee]

I don’t know which side to root for on this one.

[null and void]

Because “power to the people” is evil?

[NRG1973]

I don’t know which side to root for on this one.

We should hope that they both devour each other over this issue.

[Nervous Tick]

>> That is they take up more real estate per MW generated.

Centralized solar is kind of nutty, in many cases. If it’s near enough to a populated area, it’s taking too much real estate; if it’s far enough away that no one cares, then power distribution is an issue.

Wind power takes space in three dimensions and is therefore even more problematic.

Distributed solar (i.e. residential rooftop) makes the most sense to me.

But don’t get me wrong — NONE of it makes sense if it requires a taxpayer subsidy. I have no problem with alternative energy provided it can make it in the marketplace ON ITS OWN.

FRegards

[alancarp]

Give the tribe a casino and they’ll forget all about their deserted desert cultural sites.

[rottndog]

BTW...this solar plant may generate 1000 MW of power 10 hours or so a day on 6000 acres of land....San Onofre generates 2350 MW of power 24 hours a day on 84 acres of land.

Conclusion: Only the ignorant, the uninformed, morons, and environmentalists can possibly support this idiocy.

[American Constitutionalist]

" This is the problem with some of the green energy projects. Solar and Windpower are not as energy dense as coal, nuclear and natural gas fired power plants. That is the amount of square feet per MW used by these forms (solar & wind) of energy are greater than the traditional (coal, nuclear & gas) forms of energy generation. That is they take up more real estate per MW generated. So large scale solar and windpower will always be affected to a greater extent by NIMBYs and BANANAs even if they are "cleaner". "

The same can be said about the " Wasted space " and farm land of the production of Ethanol, the drawbacks out weigh the benefits ( if there ever was any benefits of the use of ethanol ) .

[NRG1973]

BTW...this solar plant may generate 1000 MW of power 10 hours or so a day on 6000 acres of land....San Onofre generates 2350 MW of power 24 hours a day on 84 acres of land.

Thanks for the comparison info, rottndog. This explains very well why the maintenance costs for large scale solar and wondpower are so high. Instead of going to the other side of the plant to fix a boiler/generator, these projects require maintenance men to drive many miles (with tools and spare parts in their trucks) to fix/maintain the installation.

[NRG1973]

BTW...this solar plant may generate 1000 MW of power 10 hours or so a day on 6000 acres of land....San Onofre generates 2350 MW of power 24 hours a day on 84 acres of land.

Thanks for the comparison info, rottndog. This explains very well why the maintenance costs for large scale solar and wondpower are so high. Instead of going to the other side of the plant to fix a boiler/generator, these projects require maintenance men to drive many miles (with tools and spare parts in their trucks) to fix/maintain the installation.

[NRG1973]

BTW...this solar plant may generate 1000 MW of power 10 hours or so a day on 6000 acres of land....San Onofre generates 2350 MW of power 24 hours a day on 84 acres of land.

Thanks for the comparison info, rottndog. This explains very well why the maintenance costs for large scale solar and wondpower are so high. Instead of going to the other side of the plant to fix a boiler/generator, these projects require maintenance men to drive many miles (with tools and spare parts in their trucks) to fix/maintain the installation.

[NRG1973]

I’m sorry about the multiple posts...I was trying to correct my post and my PC hung up on me. I hope that no one thinks I was trying to spam the forum.

[Nervous Tick]

>> if there ever was any benefits of the use of ethanol

It benefits Big Corn! And, hey, who wouldn’t like it if your Uncle Sam put his powerful gun to everyone else’s head and forced them to buy your product at a premium? ;-)

[American Constitutionalist]

" It benefits Big Corn! And, hey, who wouldn’t like it if your Uncle Sam put his powerful gun to everyone else’s head and forced them to buy your product at a premium? ;-) "

You mean ? like the healthcare plan ? I am so glad our government cares so much about us they want to take care of our needs.. Sarcasm..

[Nervous Tick]

>> I am so glad our government cares so much about us they want to take care of our needs.

Yes, your government is here to service you! Think bull on heifer.

[agere_contra]

NONE of it makes sense if it requires a taxpayer subsidy

Very well said. That's the whole issue in a nutshell.

[bert]

The shade produced by the collectors lowers the temperature of the desert surface. The resulting alterations of the microclime allows microbal and viral growth that decimates the botanical and zoological balance nearby.

In the fragile desert eco community any significant death cascades to the whole area resulting in eco calamity. Further study will be needed to determine if the cascading disaster and increase of the microbal/viral killers will escape to the eco communities beyond the desert. Were that event to occur, life in the southern California cities would be at risk.