Parts of Ivanpah Solar Construction Temporarily Halted
The Department of Interior ordered BrightSource Energy LLC to temporarily halt construction on phases 2 and 3 of the Ivanpah Solar Energy Generating System since the project's impacts on the endangered desert tortoise have exceeded initial estimates. The 5.6 square mile project is being built on public land and was approved by the Department of Interior and California Energy Commission in October after a hasty environmental review process. Washington and Sacramento were intent on approving the project in time for BrightSource to qualify for taxpayer-backed financing. Creosote bush scrub habitat in the Ivanpah Valley, with the Clark Mountains in the background. This photo was taken in March 2010, before construction began. During the environmental review last year, the Department of Interior estimated that the Ivanpah project would displace or kill 34 desert tortoises , which was still a phenomenally high number for a species that is in decline throughout its range and a te