Skip to main content

Inyo County Growing Leary of Solar Proposal

Support Provided By
Hiddenhills-12-12-12-thumb-600x406-41936

Artist's conception, Hidden Hills Solar project | Image courtesy BrightSource Energy

The Inyo County Board of Supervisors has long had a reputation among environmental activists as being relentlessly in favor of industrial development on the county's undeveloped desert lands -- 9,400 square miles of which are public lands. But it may turn out that even Inyo County has limits. The county's Board of Supervisors is troubled by a recent report prepared by County staff that says the proposed 500-megawatt Hidden HIlls solar project near Tecopa will cost the county $22 million in increased services.

The project's developer, BrightSource Energy, contests the report's findings, and a competing report issued by the California Energy Commission (CEC) projects $61 million in increased county revenue from the Hidden HIlls project over its proposed lifespan.

The project would incorporate two 750-foot power towers surrounded by hundreds of thousands of mirrored heliostats on 3,280 acres of private land between Tecopa and Pahrump, Nevada.

What's behind the differences in projected bottom line? For the most part, they stem from different assumptions over the degree of county services the project will require. The county maintains that the project's several thousand workers descending on the site will require hiring seven deputy sheriffs and extensive repairs to the Old Spanish Trail Road, which connects Pahrump and Tecopa. County staff estimates expenditures related to the Hidden HIlls project at $90 million. BrightSource disagrees, projecting a temporary hire of two deputies, and claiming it will handle repairs to the road if necessary.

Inyo County Supervisor Rick Pucci has gone on the record as deeply troubled by the difference in bottom-line forecasts. "This huge discrepancy really bothers me," Pucci told reporter Benett Kessler of SierraWave. "We can't gamble with the public's money."

The Board of Supervisors voted unanimously to accept staff's assessment on Tuesday. Both the County and BrightSource agree that the firm will pay at least $7.8 million in sales taxes, but BrightSource is concerned that the county may seek to recover the rest of that $90 million from the state, which would likely seek to recoup those losses from the company.

BrightSource hopes to begin construction on Hidden HIlls in 2013, and to start delivering power to Pacific Gas & Electric in 2015.

ReWire is dedicated to covering renewable energy in California. Keep in touch by liking us on Facebook, and help shape our editorial direction by taking this quick survey here.

Support Provided By
Read More
Gray industrial towers and stacks rise up from behind the pitched roofs of warehouse buildings against a gray-blue sky, with a row of yellow-gold barrels with black lids lined up in the foreground to the right of a portable toilet.

California Isn't on Track To Meet Its Climate Change Mandates. It's Not Even Close.

According to the annual California Green Innovation Index released by Next 10 last week, California is off track from meeting its climate goals for the year 2030, as well as reaching carbon neutrality by 2045.
A row of cows stands in individual cages along a line of light-colored enclosures, placed along a dirt path under a blue sky dotted with white puffy clouds.

A Battle Is Underway Over California’s Lucrative Dairy Biogas Market

California is considering changes to a program that has incentivized dairy biogas, to transform methane emissions into a source of natural gas. Neighbors are pushing for an end to the subsidies because of its impact on air quality and possible water pollution.
A Black woman with long, black brains wears a black Chicago Bulls windbreaker jacket with red and white stripes as she stands at the top of a short staircase in a housing complex and rests her left hand on the metal railing. She smiles slightly while looking directly at the camera.

Los Angeles County Is Testing AI's Ability To Prevent Homelessness

In order to prevent people from becoming homeless before it happens, Los Angeles County officials are using artificial intelligence (AI) technology to predict who in the county is most likely to lose their housing. They would then step in to help those people with their rent, utility bills, car payments and more so they don't become unhoused.