Posted on 01/25/2012 12:59:46 PM PST by La Enchiladita
We all love the idea of solar energy and there are plans for 26 solar projects in the deserts of California. One is underway, but there's a big problem -- the desert tortoise is in the way.
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service estimates that over a thousand tortoises could be harmed by the construction. Advocates say the projects will bring much needed clean energy and jobs to the region and that there's a way to protect the tortoises.
(Excerpt) Read more at scpr.org ...
The desert tortoise begs to differ...
We’ve already decided it’s OK to grind up eagles on the altar of wind energy, and tortoises aren’t nearly as pretty as eagles.
NO NO NO.
We’ve already been told that PRISTINE ecosystems like ANWR cannot be tapped for energy because of the impact on the caribou. Clearly, there is NO POSSIBLE WAY to build this solar plant without killing thousands of innocent tortoises.
They want earth's population TOTAL well below 1 Billion.
So, the idea that we should strive for an energy policy that makes these people happy is ludicrous.
Ping.
, let’s say you went really big, and you created a solar array somewhere in the U.S. the size of five hundred football fields (roughly a square mile). How much power would you get? The answer is roughly 150 MW, and only during the day when the sun is out. A typical power plant produces about 750 MW. So supplanting one power plant would require five square miles of panels. This is not compelling.
Supplanting our entire electrical supply with solar would require turning the entire state of South Carolina into one large solar panel. Or...maybe we should stick them out in the desert. Seems logical. Senator Feinstein has proposed paneling over 500,000 acres of the Mojave Desert. But again, we run into mundane practical problems, even before considering things like the environmental impact of covering that much land. When solar panels collect dust and grime, they lose much of their effectiveness, so they must be cleaned frequently. Where, exactly, are we going to get the water needed for cleaning in the middle of the desert? And who’s going to be out there wiping down 500,000 acres of panels?
Furthermore, the more distant a source of electricity is from where it’s used, the more of it you lose during transmission, as much as 50% over 115 miles. Not a lot of folks living near the Mojave. Feinstein is nuts.
“They want earth’s population TOTAL well below 1 Billion.”
I agree, and the fact that they have not started with themselves is proof of their hypocrisy.
That is not true. Not even close to it.
Total transmission/distribution losses average 6~7% as a national average.
I agree...And it's why the government in CA is anti job/anti biz and so restrictive..They want 80 percent of the people out of CA.
In fact, fat fedgov now sees people in the U.S. as heavy luggage, a burden....Hordes that use power and energy, who are going to want their Social Security, which fatgov has looted, etc etc...
They'd like to see 90 percent of us dead...No joke.
*The avian species served will vary and depends on what the blades have chopped.
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Solar, if it can be built economocially without government subsidies. But don't compare it to base loaded plants like coal or nuclear. They better fit the use of peaker plants, typically natural gas that only come on for part of the day to take up the swing load.
Solar output matches rather nicely with the associated air conditioning loads.
There is a house like that on the side of the Organ Mts.
above WSMR and below the San Augustine pass.
Man, what a place to retire - sit on the roof, drink a beer, and watch missile launches.
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Sounds like a fun Friday night.
BrightSource has spent “a surprising amount of money” for tortoise mitigation, according to Bechtel — the firm has to buy mitigation land whether they find a tortoise or not. BrightSource also has to monitor each tortoise for five years and perform a blood analysis to check for respiratory diseases. BrightSource has up to 100 biologists working at the Ivanpah site (!).
Ivanpah has 500 workers on site, including biologists and trade workers from California’s High Desert. The project will create an estimated 1,000 union jobs at the peak of construction.
Desert Tortoise Head-Start Program
To help rebuild the desert tortoise population in the Ivanpah Valley, BrightSource has started a “head start” program at the Ivanpah project site to prevent juvenile tortoise mortality. Head-start programs provide support and protection for hatchling and juvenile tortoises during the first five years of life, or until they are large enough to resist predators.
http://www.greentechmedia.com/channel/solar/
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