The legal hurdles just keep cropping up for developers of solar energy farms in the Southern California desert.
The solar farm would be built and operated Genesis Solar, a subsidiary of
NextEra Energy Resources, which is a consortium of FPL Group and Florida Power & Light. It would not use solar panels to create electricity. Instead, it would produce steam by using mirrors that would focus sunlight on water-carrying pipes.
The real issue would appear to be that the unions want to make sure that they are involved in the project, and they are using environmental complaints to force the developers to hire union workers. For example, back in 2009, CURE fired environmental objections to a solar project by a company called Aursa, which refused to pledge to hire only union workers. But when another company, BrightSource Energy, which had agreed to hire union workers, proposed a solar farm that might have threatened a desert tortoise, CURE lobbied to have the project approved.
The most recent lawsuit follows another one filed by the Quechan Tribe, which is trying to halt the
Imperial Valley Solar Project, which will consist of 28,360 “SunCatcher” dishes spread across 6,360 acres of public land outside of El Centro. The tribe contends the solar farm could damage Quechan cultural artifacts, as well as desert flora and fauna, including the endangered flat-tailed horned lizard that holds a significant place in tribal lore.
-Noel Brinkerhoff, David Wallechinsky