Rural Nevada Farming Town Warms to New Solar Plan

www.kolotv.com
Jan 30, 2010

AMARGOSA VALLEY, Nev. (AP) - When it comes to finding a place to build a solar energy plant, a few miles can make a big difference. The latest solar plant plan for Amargosa Valley looks more popular with area residents than previous pitches, because it's farther out of town. Click here to find out more! For that same reason, it is likely to draw opposition from off-roaders and environmentalists.

Pacific Solar Investments, a Portland, Ore.-based subsidiary of the Spanish company Iberdrola Renewables, wants to build a 150-MW solar photovoltaic array on more than 1,500 acres of Bureau of Land Management land between U.S. 95 and the Big Dune recreation area on the north end of the Amargosa Valley. The company has requested a lease on more than 7,000 acres far from Amargosa's main drag, but next to an environmentally sensitive dune. The nearly 11 square miles that Pacific Solar wants to lease also overlaps a popular off-road race route.

The company says it will give back to the BLM all the land it doesn't use for its solar plant. But even so, the area could still be covered by solar panels. The Big Dune Project, as the locals call it, is one of numerous solar energy plants proposed for the valley, and some fear the plants will force off-roaders and desert creatures out of the area. Government planning maps show that tens of thousands of acres in the Amargosa Valley are sought by solar developers. If all the projects are approved and built, many rural ranches and homesteads would be surrounded by miles of mirrors and solar panels.

The landscape would be scraped clean of foliage, and desert animals would be forced to find new homes. Off-roading would be out, and a portion of the route used by the popular Best in the Desert Vegas-to-Reno race would be cut off. The contest winds through 1,000 miles of mostly open desert from Amargosa Valley to Carson City. Greg Helseth, BLM's renewable energy project manager for southern Nevada, said the agency will consider the potential cumulative effects of so many solar plants in one area.

At the BLM's first public meeting about the project, held in January at the Amargosa Valley Community Center, one thing seemed clear: Area residents are OK with solar, as long as it doesn't suck their aquifer dry, cause fleets of trucks to roll past the school and park, or create eyesores behind their back fences. About 40 residents braved a rainstorm to attend the meeting and offer their general support of the Pacific Solar plan. The company says it could provide enough clean energy to power about 30,000 southern Nevada homes, while creating hundreds of short-term construction jobs and some permanent jobs the company says it will try to award to locals.

The plant would be built in three 50-MW phases, decreasing dust problems and prolonging the jobs of construction workers. The company hopes to finish the first phase of construction in 2011 and wrap up a final phase in 2013. It also hopes to sell all the electricity to NV Energy through a long-term power purchase agreement. "We would like to create electricity in Nevada for Nevada," said Kim Fiske, Pacific Solar's international managing director.

Amargosa Valley residents at the meeting said they appreciated that the developer chose a location far from the town's main road, and its decision to develop the plant with the most water-conserving technology available. "You're welcome to my backyard," resident Gary Gulley said to polite applause. The mood was dramatically different during a meeting for a different project at the same building last August.

At that session, solar developer Solar Millennium unveiled plans for a proposed solar thermal power plant along Amargosa Farm Road. Neighbors criticized the proposed location between the school and senior center, and next to several residential properties. Some also objected to the amount of water the proposed plant's cooling system would use. The first phase of the proposed Pacific Solar array is near Big Dune, a place with unique and threatened plants and animals. The Bureau of Land Management has designated parts of the area for "critical environmental concern" protection.

Desert conservation organization Basin and Range Watch, a group with members concentrated in six western states including Nevada, is organizing opposition to the solar plant because of its potential effect on ancient creosote bushes, a rare weevil and three rare beetles, including one that lives only on Big Dune. The area is also populated by endangered desert tortoises. Officials say construction crews will have to scrape the ground clear of vegetation to create a flat, open space on which to build.

The discovery of rare flora and fauna wouldn't necessarily kill a project, but it does mean a developer would have to pay to offset the impact of its project. For example, a developer could agree not to demolish certain trees or to relocate tortoises. The BLM's Helseth said the company will have to address such issues as dust abatement, water supply and how to restore the site once the plant is decommissioned in 30 to 40 years. "We're looking at all aspects of this project," he said. "The desert takes a long time to recover, and this is a large area."