The solar stupidity is blinding
California is determined to save the costly, controversial Ivanpah solar plant.
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During my dozen years writing about climate change, I can’t tell you how many times I’ve gotten annoyed by photos like the one above.
That’s the Ivanpah solar project, in the California desert not far from Las Vegas. It’s a clunky, aging facility that uses vast fields of mirrors to reflect sunlight toward the tops of giant towers, instead of dark flat panels that convert sunlight directly to electricity. It looks bizarre, to say the least — nothing like almost any other solar farm in the U.S. Many would call it ugly.
But it’s certainly eye-catching, which is why you’ll often see it featured in news stories about solar development — even when the stories aren’t about Ivanpah.
Which is a shame, because Ivanpah has become a poster child for anti-solar crusaders. The technology hasn’t worked as well as once hoped, hence the shift to cheaper, more reliable solar panels. Ivanpah has also made international headlines for frying birds to death and distracting pilots with its blinding glare.
So when Pacific Gas & Electric announced this year that it had reached an agreement with Ivanpah’s owners to stop buying expensive power from the plant — allowing two of the three towers to shut down — I was pleasantly surprised.
PG&E said the contract cancelation would help keep utility bills down, an imperative in a state with some of the country’s most expensive energy. And maybe, just maybe, I would stop seeing so many misleading Ivanpah images.
Alas, the California Public Utilities Commission had other ideas.
On Thursday, Governor Gavin Newsom’s five appointees voted unanimously to reject the contract cancelation. There was no public discussion.
Wait, what?