Mesquite and Sand
Caithness Soda Mountains Solar Energy Project
July 16, 2011 - San Bernardino County, California - Honey mesquite (Prosopis glandulosa) and other phreatophytes (plants that send roots down to tap ground water) are common on the site of the proposed Caithness Soda Mountains Solar Energy Project located about 20 miles west of Baker, California, in the Mojave Desert. The project would remove 3,000 acres of Mojave Desert habitat and replace it with 1.5 million photovoltaic panels. Sand blowups on the site support Mojave fringe-toed lizards (Uma scoparia). The project is still in the planning stages and the Bureau of Land Management has not officially announced it yet.
Caithness has a promotinal description on their website:
http://www.caithnessenergy.com/Caithness-Projects-Soda-Mountain.php
"The Caithness Soda Mountain Solar Project is solar photovoltaic power generating facility located in the Mojave Desert in southern California. The project will employ 1.5 million solar panels mounted on a one-axis tracking system to generate 350 MW of electricity. It will be sited on approximately 3000 acres of land managed by the Bureau of Land Management. The valley in which the project is located already has multiple utility and vehicular corridors running through it. The high level of insolation, existing high voltage electric transmission lines, excellent vehicular access and the pre-existing industrial uses of the area make this a particularly suitable site for solar power development. This project will help the state of California meet its goals for greatly expanding the use of renewable energy with minimal impact on the desert environment."
^Honey mesquite on sandy flats, with sand blown by winds into ravines on the distant mountains.
^Map of proposed project on either side of Interstate 15, west of Baker, California.
Plan of Development
Download the 16.4 MB PDF file >>here.
