The Dark Side Of Solar Power

Investor's Business Daily ^ | 02/19/2014 | IBD Staff

[IBD editorial writer]

Energy: What do you call an energy source that consumes vast tracks of open land and fries birds that cross its path? If you're the president, you call it "safe," "reliable," "green" and worthy of massive taxpayer subsidies.

That, at least, is the case with the Ivanpah Solar Electric Generating Station that covers a vast area of desert outside Las Vegas and, thanks to the generous support of the Obama administration, has officially opened.

The plant points hundreds of thousands of mirrors at three towers to boil turbine-spinning water. But the heat rays aren't very friendly to the area's birds, including falcons, hawks, warblers and sparrows that have shown up dead near the towers.

One of the inconvenient truths that global warming fanatics and renewable energy purists try to ignore is that wind and solar energy are not so environmentally friendly. At least, not if you care about wildlife and land preservation.

[hinckley buzzard]

This approach was touted by the Union of Concerned Scientists as far back as the late 1970's. Their diagrams back then were almost exactly like this Ivanpah installation. Looks like they got their dream come true.

[nascarnation]

Somebody is gonna make big bucks.
Build some wind turbines upstream.

You got dirt cheap shredded fried poultry!

[1010RD]

Wind-power is just as bad. It’s huge, ugly and worse than the disease.

[oldtech]

I think you understand it right. You personally better not mess with a protected species,but with a gov’t. subsidized “green energy” project,it seems to be perfectly acceptable. There is a double standard at work here. Laws can be overlooked if the right perps are doing the overlooking. Just another case of the laws being selectively enforced. If a private concern builds an energy project WITHOUT gov’t. subsidies,I’m thinking they will enforce the law completely. Maybe a way could be figured out so that in case of an energy shortage,the resulting problem could be directly aimed at Washington,D.C.