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| Wed, 13th May 2020 16:22:00 |
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Mammoth Solar Power Plant Drives Another Nail Into US Coal Coffin: Guess Who’s Holding The Hammer |
Every day is opposite day with the Trump administration, and so it is with energy policy. The Leader of the Free World sailed into office promising to save the US fossil fuel industry in general and coal jobs in particular, only to drop coal like a hot potato in favor of oil and gas. Now it looks like the whole kit and caboodle is going under the bus as the nation’s renewable energy sector cranks up. In the latest development, the Trump administration has just green-lighted the biggest solar power plant in US history. The 690-megawatt behemoth, dubbed Gemini, is also expected to make it into the top 10 biggest PV arrays worldwide.
US To Get Its Biggest Solar Power Plant Ever
Before we get into the biggest solar power plant ever built in the US, let's pause and consider the location. The Gemini Solar Project will take up 11 square miles in the Mojave desert about 30 miles northeast of Las Vegas, Nevada. The parcel is located on federal land managed by the Bureau of Land Management under the US Department of the Interior.
Leasing out federal land (and water) for energy development is a cornerstone of US energy policy, and in that regard there is nothing unusual about peppering public land with thousands of solar panels. Still, conservation advocates have raised serious concerns about impacts on local habitat and wildlife. The US Army Corps of Engineers also took note of potential impacts in a public notice last year. Another red flag is the efforts of the Trump* administration to limit environmental reviews.
The conservationists raise a good point: there are plenty of opportunities to build smaller-scale solar arrays where something else is already built including rooftop solar systems and solar canopies for parking lots, landfills and other brownfields, and constructed ponds (for floating solar arrays).
Be that as it may, this particular project is moving forward, at least for now. As described in a DOI press release, the Record of Decision approving the new PV plant specifies a "hybrid alternative" that will reduce habitat impacts. If you want to know more about that, so do we. CleanTechnica is reaching out to the developer, Solar Partners XI, LLC (or whoever), to see what distinguishes the Gemini array from conventional ground-mounted solar panels.
Read original full article
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