"Green" vs. "Green"

The impending development of utility-scale solar power facilities on public land in the California desert is creating a conflict between conservation and industry groups and elected officials. For example, in December 2009, Senator Diane Feinstein (D-CA), introduced legislation to establish nearly 1.1 million acres of the California desert as two national monuments, thereby conserving these areas while prohibiting solar or wind development.¹ Conflict also exists among conservation groups, who are struggling to define the value of desert conservation when compared to the value of developing new renewable energy facilities, in essence creating a “green” versus “green” conflict. The sense of urgency surrounding development has caused some conservation organizations to raise questions concerning the most appropriate use of land desired for solar development and to question whether the tradeoff between conservation and development is understood well enough to make siting decisions.

Some environmental groups, such as The Wilderness Society (TWS), are supportive of renewable energy development and want to be involved in decisions about permitting solar projects in order to ensure that they minimize ecological impacts and maximize energy gains. As Pam Eaton, deputy vice president of the TWS Public Lands Campaign, states, “You’ve got the short-term impact of a project versus a long-term problem, which is climate change.”

In the face of growing electricity demand, the relative scarcity of renewable energy development in the California desert provides public land managers with an important opportunity to solicit comment from stakeholders about appropriate locations for new solar facilities as they develop the Solar Programmatic Environmental Impact Statement (PEIS) and process existing solar applications. The rapid progression of energy policy decisions and pressing need to meet aggressive Renewable Portfolio Standard (RPS) goals requires a method to quickly and effectively identify and evaluate trade-offs inherent in many existing permit applications. Environmental groups, including our client, TWS, struggle with ways to support renewable energy development while protecting fragile desert lands. This may ultimately lead them to support some individual facilities and to oppose others.

1 United States Congress, Senate, California Desert Protection Act of 2010, S.2921, 111th Congress, 1st session (21 December 2009).