Earth Equity News

Battle Brewing Over Giant Desert Solar Farm. By Todd Woody, NYTimes, August 5, 2009. "Tessera Solar plans to plant 34,000 solar dishes -- each one 40 feet high and 38 feet wide -- on 8,230 acres of the Mojave Desert in Southern California. Although the lengthy licensing process for the Calico solar farm remains in the early stages, several environmental groups are already raising red flags about the massive project's impact on such protected wildlife as the desert tortoise, the Mojave fringe-toed lizard and Nelson's bighorn sheep. Calico is one of dozens of industrial-scale solar farms planned for the Southwest that have divided environmentalists over the need to promote renewable energy while protecting fragile desert ecosystems. But the sheer size of the Calico project, as well as its location next to federal conservation areas, is drawing scrutiny from grassroots green activists and national organizations... The solar farm would generate 850 megawatts of electricity for Southern California Edison."