FrostedFlake
Posts: 3084
Joined: 3/4/2009
From: Centralia, Washington
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Recently the Ivanpah solar power plant has opened. Great, huh? Well actually, no. Now that they figure they don't have to cover their butts, some new information has surfaced. You understand what a concentration camp is, right? The good news is, it's closed. The bad news is, it served it's purpose. Most of the Tortoises that were at Ivanpah are dead.
Now, in the middle of Tortoise Territory, some folks want to do it again. It is said to be a KEY TEST, and could result in lots of desert power plants. I think we ought not. I think solar panels belong on buildings. Because no footprint and no line losses. And because animals need to live somewhere. Preferably where they are. And I said so. But I'm just one guy. If you feel strongly enough to comment, one way or the other, this thread is for you.
The newspaper story.
Here is my essay. Please don't copy-n-paste. That will probably not go over very well.
===============================================================
Katrina Symons, BLM Barstow field manager
2601 Barstow Road, Barstow, CA, 92311
[email protected]
Bill De Witt, a South Gate councilman, has said the proposed 11 square mile 200-megawatt solar photovoltaic project will bring jobs and development to the depressed Baker area. I understand that being a local landowner, Bill has a lot to gain. But what about the rest of us? And is what Bill is saying, fair?
Let's take a step back and look around. Baker is in the middle of nowhere. Is there any reason to expect a town in the middle of nowhere to be scant of jobs and development and economically depressed? Is Bill pointing at a problem? Or is he pointing at reality and calling it a problem in hopes that someone will do something about it he can profit by?
Let's take another step back and notice the land under discussion lies across a choke-point of a valley stretching from the Cibola National Wildlife Refuge to the Sylvania Mountians Wilderness area. A contiguous ecosystem stretching over 350 miles through the high desert. Bill seems to see no value in this. Others view it as priceless. Irreplaceable. Magnificent.
Let's take another step back and look at the technology. Solar panels last a while. But not that long. They slowly degrade by themselves and when exposed to windblown abrasives degrade more quickly. Does this desert have wind and sand? The answer is YES. We can expect therefor these panels will have to be replaced (dumped somewhere) sooner rather than later. But will they be? What sort of technology will be at hand in twenty years? Thirty years? Forty years? Completely overlooking the ecological impacts for the moment, will it make economic sense then to replace these panels? Or will the project be abandoned in favor of resurfacing the highway with photovoltaic material? And will the site be rehabilitated? Or will it be eleven square miles of post-industrial hell in the middle of nowhere? Should we ask Bill?
Let's take another step back and try to sidestep the argument completely. If this project makes any sense on any level, doesn't it make a heck of a lot more sense 35 miles east where the Ivanpah Solar Electric Generating System has already completely destroyed everything of value anywhere near it?
Let's stop being defensive. Let's go on offense. Let's talk about Ivanpah and the law of unintended consequences. Ivanpah generates power by reflecting light onto towers. A brilliant idea, and not in a good way. The mirrors at Ivanpah are pointed in every direction. There is no fixing this, it is a feature of the design. It seemed like a good idea at the time. But there are a few small problems.
It tends to blind a pilot. But he has two hands and can hold one up to shield his eyes as he flys by. With however many passengers. Who cares if that isn't safe. The light also attracts migrating birds. Because it looks a bit like water. As they arrive they get fried. Fall right out of the the sky. Not dead. Mostly. But unable to fly. And in the middle of the desert. This too is not a concern and will not be reflected on the bill.
I'm sorry. That was a very bad joke. But not the wost to be found a Ivanpah.
http://www.blm.gov/pgdata/etc/medialib/blm/ca/pdf/needles/lands_solar.Par.30845.File.dat/ISEGS_Biological_Assessment_Dec09.pdf
I refer your attention to 2.8.1. This is the section that refers to the handling of the Tortoises at the construction site. It just goes on and on and on, until your eyes roll back in your head. Doesn't it? Does anyone believe that is what actually happened? Even if you DO believe all those careful and no doubt apparently meaningless steps were taken in every instance by every man on the construction site, is there any mention in those regulations of the fact that every time a tortoise is disturbed it urinates a years worth of water? Let's take a look at what actually happened.
http://blog.pe.com/environment/2013/08/30/desert-tortoise-move-on-to-save-conservation-center/
So it turns out that all those regulations were just a smoke screen to fool the enviro-whackos who objected to the endangered species being removed. That is relevant to Silurian Valley, because had the Ivanpah regulations been followed, many of the surviving tortoises might be in the Silurian Valley today. Where Bill is quite happy to point out for us they are not. However. Beg pardon, HOWEVER !!!!! That turns out not to be the case.
I refer your attention to page 42 of this document, the 2011 Tortoise Recovery Plan from the US Fish and Wildlife hippies. It shows, if you are not finding Tortoises in the Silurian Valley, you aren't looking very hard.
http://www.fws.gov/nevada/desert_tortoise/documents/recovery_plan/RRP%20for%20the%20Mojave%20Desert%20Tortoise%20-%20May%202011.pdf
To sum up. I think siting a power plant North of Baker is not simply wrong and unwise, both economically and ecologically. I'm pretty sure it's illegal too.
_____________________________
Frosted Flake
simul justus et peccator
Einen Liebhaber, und halten Sie die Schraube
"... evil (and hilarious) !!" Hlen5
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