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WTF?

Jun 27th, 2008 at 8:51 am by Susie

DENVER — Faced with a surge in the number of proposed solar power plants, the federal government has placed a moratorium on new solar projects on public land until it studies their environmental impact, which is expected to take about two years.

The Bureau of Land Management says an extensive environmental study is needed to determine how large solar plants might affect millions of acres it oversees in six Western states — Arizona, California, Colorado, Nevada, New Mexico and Utah.

But the decision to freeze new solar proposals temporarily, reached late last month, has caused widespread concern in the alternative-energy industry, as fledgling solar companies must wait to see if they can realize their hopes of harnessing power from swaths of sun-baked public land, just as the demand for viable alternative energy is accelerating.

“It doesn’t make any sense,” said Holly Gordon, vice president for legislative and regulatory affairs for Ausra, a solar thermal energy company in Palo Alto, Calif. “The Bureau of Land Management land has some of the best solar resources in the world. This could completely stunt the growth of the industry.”

Posted in Feature or Bug

4 Responses to “WTF?”

on 27 Jun 2008 at 1:51 pm1Kevin

Alex Daue, an outreach coordinator for the Wilderness Society, an environmental conservation group, praised the government for assessing the implications of large-scale solar development.

I swear these environmentaists ain’t gonna be satisfied till we end up living in grass huts, scrounging for food with sticks & rocks. No drilling for our own resourses. No hydro. No nuclear. Some eco-champions bitch about wind farms spoiling their view (remember this ?) Well, gang, these big solar farms are gonna be a blight on the pristine landscape. I can hear it now!! This is where we have arrived at with all this…….
on 27 Jun 2008 at 5:40 pm2cheflovesbeer

It is a feature. The Bush wants to slow down solar as much as he can before he leaves office. Some solar is cheaper than coal. And the power companies are in bed with coal.
on 27 Jun 2008 at 6:46 pm3Ron

Let’s see. Let’s stop 90% of sunlight from reaching the surface of the earth over thousands (tens of thousands of acres?). Might that have an impact on the ecology of the planet? Ever made the drive from Palm Springs to LA? I’m surprised it doesn’t induce epileptic seizures. For the first time we have an opportunity to move into the next generation of power generation and distribution and we continue with the same ‘environment be damned’ attitude that has created the situation where the freakin’ polar ice cap will be ice free for the first time in recorded history! A technology is a technological, e.g., not natural, solution. Even carbon neutral power generation can still have devastating, though different, environmental effects, for Christ’s sake. I, for once, would like to know in a little more detail what the fuck some corporation is doing before signing off on it. Anything that involves a corporate enterprise business model as its organizing principle will try to defer risk onto the public sector. Some ‘progressive’ approach to problem solving.

As long as we cling to the notion of centrally generated power with long distribution grids, we will be plagued with these potentially devastating negative impacts. Perhaps a more logical (and therefore less likely to be adopted) approach would be to adopt something like the German decentralized ‘point-of-use’ or net metering model of power generation. But just ’cause it’s a solution that’s worked let’s not jump the gun and try it. Or could the reluctance be that power companies wouldn’t have the monopoly they do now.
on 28 Jun 2008 at 2:53 pm4Mold

They’re getting while the getting is good. Obama might just reinstate regulatory oversight and a professional civil service. This means that the scientists will be able to speak on subjects without fear of being fired for not being christian enough.

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