Brightsource Energy Industrializes the Mojave Desert
Recently, I traveled through the Mojave Desert on Interstate I-15 North. At Ivanpah Valley, California, I saw construction cranes building three colossal steel towers. Brightsource Energy, Bechtel and Google
had recently commandeered 3500 acres of BLM-administered federal
lands there. Prior to that, Buffalo Bill’s and Whiskey Pete’s casinos in
nearby Primm, Nevada were the largest local developments.
Buffalo Bill and Whiskey Pete proved that even in the middle of nowhere,
travelers would stop for food, fuel and gambling. Likewise,
Brightsource Energy proved that “clean energy”,
financed by a thirty-percent grant and a full federal loan guarantee,
is a surefire investment. Therefore, we now witness the permanent destruction of desert tortoise, kit fox and big horned sheep habitat totaling 3500 acres.
The solar electric generating technology behind the Ivanpah project is yet unproven. There is a Brightsource pilot project
in Israel’s Negev Desert, but its power output is only 1.5 megawatts
(MW). According to Brightsource, Ivanpah will produce 392 MW. Only in
the mega-solar industry
could a company inflate its pilot technology 260 times. I cannot
predict that Brightsource Energy’s solar thermal technology will fail,
but where is the proof that it will work?
Forgotten in all of this is the bankruptcy of our previous “solar savior”,
Solyndra, LLC. If nothing else, Solyndra shows how quickly “clean
energy” economics can change. Even so, we now sanction Brightsource to
build unproven solar infrastructure, largely at public expense. Even
before Ivanpah goes online in 2013, Brightsource has plans for larger
projects at Hidden Hills, Coalinga and Rio Mesa, California.
By James McGillis at 09:50 AM | Environment | Comments (0) | Link
