| Dear Sustainability Watch Reader,
I am pleased to provide you with your weekly Sustainability Watch newsletter. This week's topic is "Desert Solar Power."
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Desert Solar Power and Environmental Impacts
In the Mojave Desert, the Ivanpah solar plant will be completed and ready for use by early 2013. With a $1.6 billion stimulus loan guarantee from the Obama administration, the plant is expected to create enough energy for 140,000 homes. Unfortunately, its development and construction has brought serious side effects to the desert ecosystem that surrounds it. The site has uprooted thousands of desert tortoises from their burrows, and has cost $56 million to rescue and relocate from the upheaval so far. The tortoise population, once in the millions, has now been reported at only 100,000 remaining.
In October 2012, Interior Secretary Ken Salazar spoke at a conference held in Las Vegas, Nevada, in which he and Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid announced a plan that will set aside 285,000 acres of public land for the development of large-scale desert solar power plants in six states: California, Nevada, Arizona, Utah, Colorado, and New Mexico. The US Government is establishing 17 new "solar energy zones" in desert land across these specified acres, which will ultimately determine where it is appropriate to build new developments and where it is not.
The Federal Government is attempting to find a middle ground between implementing new developments of desert solar power and leaving the desert as unharmed as possible. However, many believe that this middle ground simply does not exist when heavily disturbing delicate desert ecosystems. If trends like the desert tortoise continue, the desert ecosystem could face more dangerous upheavals in the next year, let alone the next decade.
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Executive Summary
Solar power accounts for less than 1 percent of all electricity used in the United States. However, the industry is growing around the world as governments take steps to improve energy security and reduce greenhouse gas emissions. While much of the solar power generated to date comes from photovoltaic (PV) panels installed on rooftops, another approach is gaining momentum: Commercial-size solar power plants constructed on desert lands.
Most desert solar plants use Concentrating Solar Power (CSP) technology to transform sunlight into electricity. CSP projects use mirrors to concentrate the sun's rays, creating heat that is used to power generators. This technology has been available since the 1980s, but remains very costly to install. To help offset the costs and encourage investment in solar power, the 2009 American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (also known as the stimulus package or ARRA) included financial and tax incentives for projects that could be approved and underway by year-end 2010. At least six utility-scale projects were approved for construction in the Mojave Desert in the latter part of 2010, with more scheduled for review by December 31, 2010. Some environmental groups are wary of the desert projects, claiming that the negative environmental effects can offset the benefits of clean energy. Developers have responded by engaging constituents in the site selection process and taking steps to reduce the size and environmental impact of their installations.
When the Mojave Desert projects are at full capacity, the United States will surpass Spain as a leading supplier of desert solar power. North Africa could assume the leadership position if a group of energy experts and business leaders advances a comprehensive plan to build a network of power plants across the Sahara Desert.
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