The California Energy Commission has approved the hideously destructive Ivanpah Solar Energy Generating System. From their notice, forwarded to Coyote Crossing by our friends at Basin and Range Watch;

This Decision contains the Commission’s rationale in approving the Ivanpah Solar Electric Generating System (ISEGS) project. Although the project, even with the mitigation measures described in this Decision, will have remaining significant impacts on the environment, the Commission has found that the benefits the project would provide override those impacts.

Of what use are environmental laws if the government can ignore them to achieve “project benefits”? All projects have benefits. A habitat protection law worth its salt would protect the goddamn habitat, and contain no “unless you don’t feel like it” clauses.

True to form for government agencies, the PDF linked above is almost 10 megs: hard to read in a browser with any but the fastest connection. I optimized the PDF and cut out three quarters of the file size, and uploaded it to Scribd so that it’s easier to read, though still not perfect at more than 500 pages. The Scribd doc is embedded here:

Ivanpah Solar approval

1. 
   Rachel Shaw 2010 08 04 at 2:42:38 pm

   Shit.

2. 
   Dave 2010 08 04 at 2:46:26 pm

   Exact same rationales we’ve been hearing from the Pennsylvania DEP in regards to somewhat less hideously destructive, but still pretty damn bad ridgetop wind plants. With environmental friends like this, who needs enemies?

3. 
   Larry 2010 08 04 at 3:21:25 pm

   You’ve hit on the most frustrating thing about our environmental laws. CEQA and NEPA don’t ban harming the environment. They just require that a project’s impacts be fully disclosed. Once that’s done, the lead agency can approve the project with a Statement of Over-riding Considerations (“Override Findings” in this document.) Often, those over-riding considerations are a load of crap made up at the last minute. Unfortunately, it takes a lawyered-up citizens’ group to reveal that load of crap for what it is. Here’s hoping CBD or another group will take up the challenge.

4. 
   Kevin 2010 08 05 at 4:33:36 pm

   All the writing is on the wall that this desert will be gone by next spring, but I am strangely positive that a special “something” is going to happen…

5. 
   Sven DiMilo 2010 08 10 at 8:26:35 am

   aw man