Shadow cast on desert solar arrays
 |
Download story podcast | |
10:50 AM PDT on Thursday, June 19, 2008
With its sun-drenched 11 million acres, the California Desert District of the Bureau of Land Management finds itself inundated with proposals to build generators that convert the sun's rays and wind into electrical power.
The Bureau of Land Management, in conjunction with the Department of Energy, is preparing an environmental impact statement to aid in evaluating large-scale solar electricity-generating installations proposed in the western United States.
The statement will aid in evaluating which large-scale solar electricity-generating installations in the western United States are permitted.
"We will take a look at public land and DOE-managed land for where it may be appropriate and inappropriate to locate a solar energy facility," said Alan Stein, district resource manager for the California Desert District of the Bureau of Land Management.
"The EIS will also provide an explanation of each of the different kinds of solar technology available," he said.
The two bureaus held a series of scoping meetings to obtain public input on the study.
The meetings were held in Riverside, Barstow and Sacramento over the course of four days.
The federal agencies will determine whether agency-specific programs can facilitate installation of large-scale solar electric power plants on public lands.
The programs will establish environmental policies and protection measures for solar development.
"The desert is home to endangered species and endangered plants," said Percy Della, a spokesman for the Department of Energy.
"The goal is balancing the rising demand in the desert while maintaining the value of the area for the habitats."
The study will take two years to complete.
Meanwhile, the bureau is proceeding with 130 proposals to build solar and other renewable projects in California deserts but not accepting new proposals.
"California has by far the greatest number of applications and interest in solar energy," Stein said. "This is really the hotbed of potential."
The pending proposals are being handled on a case-by-base basis.
The environmental impact statement will evaluate so-called facilitated development of a 20-year planfor solar energy development.
The limited development approach will evaluate the potential impacts of previously proposed solar energy projects still pending BLM approval.
The agencies will use public testimony from the recent meetings to refine the statement.
The agencies intend to establish criteria that minimize the potential impact to natural and cultural resources in desert areas.
"This is to set the stage for increasing the production of renewable energy consistent with land management needs and resources," Stein said.
National conservation areas, national monuments, wilderness areas and study areas, wild and scenic rivers and historic and scenic trails cannot be developed and will not be included in the environmental review.
The environmental study will not eliminate the need for site-specific environmental reviews of individual projects.
The agencies have begun work on a geothermal review.
The agencies published a wind energy environmental impact statement in 2006.
The environmental impact statements are required by the Energy Policy Act of 2005, which directed the Secretary of Interior to plan for installing a minimum of 10,000 megawatts of renewable electricity generating facilities on public land.
Land managed by the bureau was covered by the legislation.
Long Beach-based 7th Street Development's Waterman Business Center is a 191,000 square-foot commercial center just south of the Interstate 10 Freeway in San Bernardino.
The facility will offer solar panels to interested tenants.
"We did install a solar demo unit and we have been getting the bill and have been pleasantly surprised," said Craig Furniss, a spokesman for 7th Street Development. "With the air conditioning and heating on, we actually have a negative usage every month; our electric bill on that unit is zero."
