Sen. Feinstein Fights Against Solar and Wind Farms in Desert

[The Straight Story]

Sen. Feinstein Fights Against Solar and Wind Farms in Desert
Wednesday, December 23, 2009

Environmentalists don’t know whether to applaud or scream at U.S. Senator Dianne Feinstein’s (D-CA) proposal to create two new national monuments in the Mojave Desert. On the one hand, the legislation would preserve a million acres of desert terrain and prevent any kind of commercial development on the land. But that restriction would also include nixing more than a dozen solar power projects which California wants as part of its long-term renewable energy goals. In fact, backers of some of the solar farms are already giving up on their plans just from the mere introduction of Feinstein’s bill.

Feinstein says her proposal follows on an earlier commitment to preserve large swaths of the Mojave that were owned by the Catellus Development Corporation. “The Catellus lands were purchased with nearly $45 million in private funds and $18 million in federal funds and donated to the federal government for the purpose of conservation, and that commitment must be upheld. Period,” Feinstein said in a statement.

http://www.allgov.com/ViewNews/Sen_Feinstein_Fights_Against_Solar_and_Wind_Farms_in_Desert_91223

[Goldstein1984]

1. Decision time

There are only so many places where large solar arrays make sense. The Southwest is one of those places.

[napi21]

2. Can't she contact the Fund and at least ask them how they

feel about this? I can see both sides of this, but it's worth seeing if there can be some kind of compromise with the donors. A million acres is a very large area. Maybe a small portion could be set aside for renewable energy. After all THAT is helpful to conservation too!

[hunter]

3. Protecting the desert is the right thing to do. Solar and wind supporters are being duped.

The utility companies only want access to coal generated power east of California. They really don't give a damn about solar or wind, it's little more than greenwash, what they really want is easements for power lines to states willing to build new coal power plants.

This is not to say Feinstein or Schwarzenegger's motives are pure. They are both beholden to natural gas and petroleum interests.

garybeck posted this too, here:

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=389&topic_id=7307312&mesg_id=7307312

[BR_Parkway]

4. How does she or her husband profit from this? For some reason, every time

I see her name, I instantly start looking for the self serving reasons she has for whatever principled stand she's taking

[cowcommander]

5. NIMBYism at its finest