{"id":25775,"date":"2026-07-01T14:55:36","date_gmt":"2026-07-01T18:55:36","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.ecoportal.net\/en\/?p=25775"},"modified":"2026-06-30T00:54:10","modified_gmt":"2026-06-30T04:54:10","slug":"california-install-30000-solar-mirrors","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.ecoportal.net\/en\/california-install-30000-solar-mirrors\/25775\/","title":{"rendered":"California planned to install 30,000 solar mirrors in the Mojave Desert until a group of desert tortoises showed up and said “Not here”"},"content":{"rendered":"

The Mojave Desert is known for its size and heat levels. It’s not surprising that it was picked as a spot to generate clean energy<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

In 2010, California had a plan to install 30,000 solar mirrors across thousands of acres of public land. <\/p>\n

The federal government saw fit to fast-track the project<\/strong>, and it seemed to be all systems go.<\/p>\n

But today, the patch of desert that was earmarked is empty. <\/p>\n

What happened to derail the multimillion-dollar green power dream<\/strong>?<\/p>\n

A plan for futuristic solar generation that “mirrored” energy goals<\/h2>\n

The push for renewable energy was at a high in the year 2010. The federal government was looking for major wins in the fight against climate change.<\/p>\n

It was decided that large-scale projects on public lands<\/strong> would be fast-tracked. <\/p>\n

This was the climate of the industry around the Calico Solar Project. Developers started eyeing 8,200 acres of land in the Mojave.<\/p>\n

There was nothing standard about the blueprint for the solar park. Engineers slated 30,000 futuristic SunCatcher dishes <\/strong>into their plans.<\/p>\n

This was cutting-edge technology at the time. The massive units are powered by Stirling engines and designed to track the sun automatically.<\/p>\n

There was a lot of political weight behind the project. The initiative was signed off on by the U.S. Department of the Interior, saying it was a vital step forward for energy<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

With Washington’s backing, thousands of homes were set to be linked up to clean electricity. Failure didn’t seem possible with such well-laid plans and support.<\/p>\n

But there was a hidden variable in the desert<\/strong> waiting to change everything.<\/p>\n

A familiar paradox: Green energy vs. local conservation<\/h2>\n

A conflict was brewing that only became evident far into the planning stage.<\/p>\n

Green energy’s footprint on ecosystems<\/strong> has become a contentious aspect of the industry. This project was no different.<\/p>\n

Conservationists got involved to put a stop to the project. Organizations like the Defenders of Wildlife<\/a> raised a red flag about an issue in the sand that no one had considered yet.<\/p>\n

\"\"
Baby desert tortoise – K. Kristina Drake, USGS CC0 1.0<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The Mojave site turned out to be an important habitat for desert tortoises<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

The threatened species<\/a> depends on this part of the land for survival.<\/p>\n

The Bureau of Land Management<\/a> oversaw a protest process. Developers were pushed to compromize to survive<\/strong> the environmental backlash.<\/p>\n

They cut the project by nearly half to 4,604 acres. But the storm had not passed.<\/p>\n

The smaller footprint didn’t change the situation with conservation laws<\/strong>. Logistics complications and legal threats still had to be dealt with.<\/p>\n

Momentum was being lost, and it was happening faster than developers could find solutions.<\/p>\n

What happened after all the tortoise drama?<\/h2>\n

More issues came up while the tortoise battle was dragging on<\/a>. <\/p>\n

The BNSF Railway raised a safety concern. Apparently, the glare from the mirrors would affect train operators <\/strong>by effectively blinding them during navigation<\/a>.<\/p>\n

All these delays in combination eventually put a stop to the whole project<\/strong>. <\/p>\n

The developers ran out of time after all the years of stalling. Southern California Edison finally canceled its power purchase agreement.<\/p>\n

A win for green power that never came to be<\/h3>\n

Pouring money into an energy endeavor without a utility company committed to buying the electricity<\/strong> is pointless.<\/p>\n

In June 2013, the developer, K Road Sun \/ Calico Solar LLC, formally surrendered its building and operating license. Then, the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) terminated the right-of-way grant.<\/span><\/p>\n

The pristine desert habitat remained completely undisturbed<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

The non-existent Calico Solar Project ultimately serves as a lesson for the whole clean energy industry. <\/p>\n

Can progress be genuinely sustainable <\/strong>if it forces us to harm the biodiversity we are trying to protect<\/a>?<\/p>\n

Disclaimer: Our coverage of events affecting companies or institutions is purely informative and descriptive. Under no circumstances does it seek to promote an opinion or create a trend, nor can it be taken as investment advice or a recommendation of any kind. <\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The Mojave Desert is known for its size and heat levels. It’s not surprising that it was picked as a spot to generate clean energy. In 2010, California had a plan to install 30,000 solar mirrors across thousands of acres of public land.  The federal government saw fit to fast-track the project, and it seemed … Read more<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":6,"featured_media":25778,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"rank_math_focus_keyword":"solar","rank_math_title":"","rank_math_description":"California planned to install 30,000 solar mirrors for renewable power in the Mojave Desert until a group of desert tortoises showed up and said, \"Not here!\"","footnotes":""},"categories":[8],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-25775","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-energy"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ecoportal.net\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/25775","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ecoportal.net\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ecoportal.net\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ecoportal.net\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/6"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ecoportal.net\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=25775"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.ecoportal.net\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/25775\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ecoportal.net\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/25778"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ecoportal.net\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=25775"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ecoportal.net\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=25775"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ecoportal.net\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=25775"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}