Defenders of Wildlife Blog

The Calico project's footprint, comprised of fields of solar panels similar to this one, will fall on 4,000 acres of public land in California, including key habitat for threatened desert tortoise.

BREAKING: The proposed California-based Calico solar project fails to meet basic environmental protection requirements and threatens imperiled wildlife, according to Defenders of Wildlife, the Natural Resources Defense Council and the Sierra Club. The groups are filing a lawsuit against the U.S. Department of the Interior after failing to reach agreement with the developers and the Bureau of Land Management and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to move the project to a location without major environmental conflicts.  

Read our fact sheet to learn more about what’s wrong with the Calico project.

Over the course of three years, the environmental groups met 10 times with the Bureau of Land Management and Calico’s current and former developers, K-Road Power and Tessera Solar (respectively), to urge the developers and Interior to relocate the project to less environmentally sensitive lands. Some of these options included degraded private agricultural lands near the proposed project that would significantly reduce the project’s impacts and bring it more in line with “smart from the start” principles. All these options were rejected.

The proposed project covers 4,000-plus-acres of vital wildlife habitat in the Mojave Desert’s Pisgah Valley – an area four times as large as San Francisco’s Golden Gate Park – and is located on key desert tortoise habitat that connects several tortoise recovery areas in the region. Building a solar project here, the groups contend, would threaten at least six other imperiled animals and plants, including golden eagles, burrowing owls and Mojave fringe-toed lizard.

Desert tortoise benefit from smart planning of solar power projects.

Defenders, NRDC and the Sierra Club have previously supported or reached agreements with developers of five of the seven large-scale solar projects approved in California by Interior since 2009. This consensus building effort resulted in better projects that would create almost 3,670 construction jobs, about 525 permanent jobs and nearly 2,600 megawatts of clean power while minimizing impacts on key species and wild lands.

Collaborative solar development efforts among these conservation groups, solar developers and federal, state and local agencies will continue, including a joint effort to help shape Interior’s national solar program that will provide a robust blueprint for successful and responsible solar development on public lands in California and the rest of the West.

Following are statements from leaders of the conservation groups presenting the lawsuit:

Kim Delfino, Defenders' California program director.

“What’s frustrating about the Calico solar project is that the developer and the Bureau of Land Management can avoid the worst impacts to wildlife by being ‘smart from the start’ and moving the project to degraded agricultural lands near the proposed site,” said Kim Delfino, Defenders of Wildlife’s California program director. “If this project moves forward at this location, Calico will irreversibly harm the sensitive Pisgah Valley and the desert tortoise.”

“We drew a line in the sand and the Calico solar project crossed it,” said Johanna Wald, senior attorney at the Natural Resources Defense Council. “My colleagues and I tried very hard to avoid litigation and filed this suit as the last resort. We have focused instead on consensus building to improve as many large-scale solar projects as possible to transition our nation to clean energy sources while protecting wild lands and wildlife. The Calico project, however, is an example of a solar project done wrong from the start.”

“The Pisgah Valley is just too critical for desert tortoise recovery and for a whole suite of important desert species like golden eagles,” said Sierra Club Senior Representative Barbara Boyle. “We need to build renewable energy, but we can find much better places that don’t harm important wildlife and habitat.”

A golden eagle.

Hundreds of thousands of acres of wildlife habitat and sensitive public lands once targeted for large-scale solar power plants are now off the table, sparing threatened desert tortoises, desert bighorn sheep, golden eagles and other unique wildlife.

On Thursday, Interior Secretary Ken Salazar released an improved draft of the federal government’s plan for solar energy development on public lands in the West, which dropped some proposed energy zones that Defenders opposed, such as the Iron Mountain and Pisgah zones in California.

The announcement came as good news for wildlife, but it could also spell a bright future for the emerging solar power industry.

That’s because the Bureau of Land Management made several improvements to the plan that could jumpstart responsible solar energy development in Arizona, California, Colorado, Nevada, New Mexico and Utah.

BLM officials say the draft plan now aims to focus development in sunny places that also have a better chance of avoiding and minimizing impacts on wildlife and the environment.

A solar dish.

Solar power projects that steer clear of wildlife habitat and fragile desert lands, says Defenders senior director for renewable energy Jim Lyons, tend to face less controversy and fewer slowdowns.

“The benefits of guided development are clear: Clean energy can come online faster and at a lower cost to developers and to our nation’s wildlife and treasured places,” he says.

Related: Read our press release on the Interior Department’s announcement.

Defenders and the conservation community worked alongside solar industry representatives earlier this year to answer to the question of how to quickly ramp up solar energy production without sacrificing imperiled wildlife and the unique desert landscape.

After long hours of negotiations, the group agreed on a number of commonsense solutions, including removing some inappropriate zones, a process for creating new zones to meet future energy demand, and giving developers some flexibility to plan projects on low-conflict lands outside the zones.

BLM worked these ideas into the new draft of the plan after receiving more than 80,000 public comments last summer, including thousands from Defenders’ members and supporters.

BLM lands in California.

“Although the new draft has reduced the amount of land available for solar development, the proposed areas appear to offer a bigger shot at success,” says California program director, Kim Delfino, who helped to draft the joint comments. “The remaining zones, which still total nearly 300,000 acres, have been refined to help developers avoid and minimize the worst impacts on wildlife and the environment.”

There’s still ample opportunity for solar growth in California and across the West, she adds, pointing out that BLM is still considering some 79 solar project applications on nearly 700,000 acres of land.

There is also the potential for new solar zones to be created through the Interior Department’s proposed solar plan and California’s Desert Renewable Energy Conservation Plan process, which aims to identify important places in the desert to protect for conservation and areas that are suitable for renewable energy development.

The Bureau of Land Management is taking public comment on the supplement to the draft Solar Programmatic Environmental Impact Statement over the next three months.

Meanwhile, Defenders will be taking a closer look at the nearly 600-page-long document to make sure it delivers on its promise of a “Smart from the Start” solar energy program.

DESERT TORTOISE, (C) Jeff Aardahl/Defenders of Wildlife

NEWS: Conservation groups urge Interior Department to move the Calico Solar Project to less sensitive lands

A coalition of conservation groups made a last-ditch appeal to Interior Secretary Ken Salazar today, urging the Bureau of Land Management to move the Calico Solar Project from vital desert habitat to degraded lands that could produce the same amount of energy, but pose less risk to imperiled wildlife and the environment.

Kim Delfino, Defenders' California program director.

“The conservation community wants to see clean energy projects succeed, but development has to be done smart from the start, where projects are designed up front to avoid, minimize and mitigate impacts on wildlife and the environment. The Calico Solar Project is a glaring example of the wrong way to pursue solar energy projects,” said Kim Delfino, California Program Director for Defenders of Wildlife.

“The harm to imperiled wildlife, plants and fragile desert habitat caused by this project if it is built in this location seriously outweighs any benefits. And while we’ve worked successfully with a number of large-scale solar project developers to reduce their project’s impacts on the environment and supported other projects with no changes, the impacts of this project are too great in its present location. As we have done successfully with other solar developers, we hope we can find a way to modify this project to reduce its impacts and permit it to proceed.”

Related: Read Defenders’ fact sheet explaining why Calico is an example of solar development done wrong.

The groups have notified the Interior Department of their intention to file a lawsuit against BLM and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service for approving the 4,613-acre solar power facility, which will impact seven imperiled species in the fragile Mojave Desert landscape, including desert tortoise, burrowing owls and bighorn sheep.

The Calico Solar Project is a glaring example of the wrong way to pursue solar energy projects. – Kim Delfino

But the groups hope to work out an agreement with the project’s developer, K-Road Power, and BLM outside the courts if the developer is willing to move the project to less sensitive lands. The groups have pointed out that the project could work well on mostly private lands — including some degraded agricultural lands and former industrial sites, called brownfields, that are close to the current site, but outside of the sensitive Pisgah Valley.

The Calico project will use solar dishes like thisone and solar panels to capture sunlight and create electricity. (C) NERL

The California Energy Commission found that these alternative sites would be a good option for the project and would likely result in fewer impacts on wildlife and the environment. But BLM and the project developer at the time, Tessera Solar, rejected these locations.

Together, Defenders of Wildlife, the Natural Resources Defense Council and the Sierra Club have worked out agreements with developers to resolve concerns over four projects on public lands, resulting in the permitting of some 2,595 megawatts — nearly 90 percent of the solar energy to be built on BLM lands in California. Despite the groups’ strong track record of working with developers to reduce impacts on wildlife and natural resources, K-Road Power has been unwilling to consider a less environmentally damaging alternative.

“The area where the Calico project is currently planned is simply not appropriate for renewable energy development,” said Barb Boyle, Senior Representative for the Sierra Club’s Beyond Coal campaign.  “If built in this location, the Calico project will unnecessarily sacrifice important and irreplaceable wildlife, plants and habitat.  Especially when there are ample disturbed and/or degraded sites throughout California that are appropriate for renewable energy development, selecting this specific land for the project has created a preventable conflict between the project’s developers and Californians who want to preserve our state’s native wildlife and landscapes.  There is still time to get this right and we hope to work with K-Road Power to find an alternative location that has far fewer impacts on wildlife and desert ecosystems.”

Related: Read our letter to Interior Secretary Salazar.

By Lori Abbott, Public News Service – CA

BLM says it will steer utility-scale solar power plants to public lands with least chance of harming wildlife.

A plan to create solar-energy zones in California and five other western states is getting a closer look.

Interior Secretary Ken Salazar says the Bureau of Land Management’s draft plans will include more information on how solar projects will affect wild lands, wildlife, water and other resources in proposed solar-energy zones.

Kim Delfino, program director for Defenders of Wildlife in California, thinks the “zone” approach offers the best chance for responsibly developing solar energy on public lands, and the goal is to encourage it as soon as possible.

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Listen to this story featuring Calif. program director, Kim Delfino, on Public News Service radio.

“In the right locations, which means that we’re putting them where you’re not going to have significant impacts on wildlife, habitat areas, important natural resources and cultural areas.”

When it comes to developing renewable-energy projects on public lands, Delfino says, using what they call a “smart from the start” approach will allow the process to move much faster.

Kim Delfino, Defenders' California program director.

“If you figure out ahead of time where the best, most low-cost places are to go and you have a consensus about that, when projects are proposed there, they can move forward quickly, efficiently and with minimal litigation – or no litigation is the goal.”

The federal government last week announced four new renewable-energy projects, which include two utility-scale solar developments and a transmission line in California as well as a wind-energy project in Oregon. Together, the four projects will provide a combined 550 megawatts of electricity, enough to power up to 380,000 homes and generate several million dollars of yearly tax revenue for local governments.

A photovoltaic solar array.

BREAKING: The Bureau of Land Management will further evaluate the potential impacts of solar energy development on public lands in six western states before finalizing its solar energy program, Interior Secretary Ken Salazar announced today.

In particular, the BLM plans to provide in a supplemental draft programmatic Environmental Impact Statement more information on how solar projects will impact wild lands, wildlife, water and other environmental resources in proposed solar energy zones. In addition, the BLM is expected to make clear in the supplement its preference for locating solar projects in the zones and avoiding environmentally-sensitive landscapes.

“Guiding projects to areas with the least potential for conflict with wildlife, wild lands, and unique natural and cultural resources is the right approach to solar energy development,” said Jim Lyons, senior director for renewable energy with Defenders of Wildlife.

“Guiding projects to areas with the least potential for conflict with wildlife, wild lands, and unique natural and cultural resources is the right approach to solar energy development,” said Jim Lyons, senior director for renewable energy with Defenders of Wildlife. “And it is the most efficient way to increase the certainty that projects will be built. It is also extremely important that we move away from reviewing projects one by one across the landscape. Providing the flexibility to modify existing zones and identify new ones working with the solar industry, conservationists, utilities and investors is essential. The additional analysis proposed by Secretary Salazar will allow the Bureau of Land Management to find low risk places for solar power plants and avoid unnecessary conflicts. This is a ‘smart from the start’ strategy that should speed development of wildlife-friendly and environmentally-sound clean energy projects. We applaud the Secretary’s decision to move in this direction.”

BLM's solar energy program aims to guide development away from pristine desert landscapes.

To meet future energy demand, the supplemental draft EIS will also outline a process for identifying new zones, discuss incentives for developing in zones and describe a pathway to allow developers to apply for exemptions to build in low conflict areas outside of the zones.

Related: Learn more about Defenders’ work on renewable energy.

“We are encouraged that BLM is committed to finalizing the solar energy program in a timely manner so that solar development on public lands can move forward in an environmentally sound way,” said Johanna Wald, director of the Western Renewable Energy Project at the Natural Resources Defense Council. “By designing a program that favors solar development in energy zones, BLM is demonstrating that it’s committed to getting solar development right from the start. And by incorporating key improvements jointly recommended by major stakeholders –developers, utilities and conservation groups – BLM is contributing to the success of the solar industry and to the nation’s transition from fossil fuel to clean energy sources.”

Turbines like these produce clean electricity by catching the wind.

In releasing its new report, “21^st Century Government:  A Simpler, Smarter Regulatory System,” the Obama administration highlighted its “smart from the start” approach to large-scale renewable energy development on public lands.

While the Obama administration has made progress – more than any previous administration – in advancing clean energy development, it is essential that lessons learned from initial efforts to develop renewable energy be used to develop a smarter approach moving forward.

In reality, the administration’s efforts to promote clean energy development have not been as smart as they could and should be. And they have been slow to start. In all fairness, the oil spill

disaster in the Gulf of Mexico last year diverted enough energy and expertise among key agencies in the federal government, including the White House, to slow progress on the clean energy front. You can see the irony here, of course, since building a clean energy economy is essential to reducing our oil dependency. But that excuse is gone now, and the Obama administration is focused on accelerating responsible renewable energy development.

Related: Learn more about Defenders’ work to make renewable energy wildlife-friendly.

But the slow progress in clean energy development can’t be blamed solely on the Obama administration. A real roadblock to clean energy development has been the lack of certainty that Congress will commit essential funding for renewable energy projects. For years, Congress has shown consistent support for oil and gas companies. Last year, for example, it gave nearly $4 billion to the oil industry in tax breaks and incentives. In contrast, there’s never been this same long-term commitment to renewable energy.

The Obama administration’s efforts to promote clean energy development have not been as smart as they could and should be.

Short-term stimulus funding provided a needed boost for clean energy research and development. But compared to the permanent “incentives” for oil and gas development, the time-limited, support for renewable energy projects is totally inadequate.  Grants and loan guarantees for renewable energy projects will run out again the end of this year. And this is bound to bring about another rush to get projects done, which leads to hurried planning and analysis of impacts on water, wildlife and the environment.  Only the Congress can fix this problem — as the administration has encouraged them to do.

A Solar Energy Strategy

For its part, the U.S. Department of the Interior is working to put in place a process for solar development that would get good projects done faster and more cost effectively. We’re urging

A solar power plant like the one above can cover several thousand acres with fields of mirrors.

the Interior Department to make the program truly Smart from the Start. That means starting with good planning and project siting. Developing projects in areas where conflicts with wildlife, wild lands, and other important natural and cultural resources are minimal — making the probability of success that much higher — is clearly smart.  Even better, these projects should be close to transmission lines (or places where transmission lines are likely to be) so that the power generated can be delivered without having to build new, expensive transmission corridors. This is smart, too. And even better would be to recycle landscapes that have already been damaged like old mines or worn-out farm lands – that way a solar power plant can give new life to already degraded lands and minimize impacts on pristine places and wildlife habitats.

Of course, not all impacts can be avoided in all places, so a means to mitigate unavoidable impacts is needed as well. BLM policy is to protect sensitive wildlife and improve habitats for threatened and endangered species. Smart planning, especially if done at a larger, landscape level, instead of on a project-by-project basis, can improve the likelihood that impacts will be avoided, minimized and mitigated where necessary.

Up Front Environmental Studies Needed

Finally, if a means can be found to do much of the environmental review and analysis ahead of time for the places best suited for clean energy projects, it would help speed up planning,

Some of the best places for the threatened desert tortoise habitat are also prime for solar energy.

permitting and construction. This isn’t complicated either. It simply requires coordination between government agencies, developers and other stakeholders. That way we can ensure that any unanticipated and unintended impacts of a project are identified early and minimized and mitigated.

The Obama administration is on the right track in proposing to be Smart from the Start as it encourages clean energy development and promotes a clean energy economy. But to be successful and smart, it needs to keep things simple. Put projects in the right places, mitigate any unavoidable impacts, and streamline the processes required to ensure that clean energy gets permitted and built in an environmentally sound and efficient way. That’s a 21^st century strategy based on old-fashioned common sense.