Turtles last hurdle for huge solar project

The only thing standing between California and the largest solar power plant in the world is four desert tortoises. The four reptiles will be relocated in the coming weeks to make room for the Blythe Solar Power Project in eastern Riverside County by the end of the year. The plan was approved Monday by the Interior Department. At 6,000 acres, the project will be the largest concentrated solar power plant in the world, said Bill Keegan, spokesman for Solar Trust of America. It eventually will generate 1,000 megawatts of electricity, enough to power 300,000 homes. The project is just one of nine in the state that are racing to meet a deadline set by President Obama's economic stimulus package. Renewable power projects that secure all their permits and start construction by the end of this year can receive a federal grant worth 30 percent of the project's cost, in lieu of taking a tax credit of equal value. The site will use mirror arrays to collect and concentrate sunlight. When focused on a tower filled with liquid at the center of the four separate arrays, that energy will produce steam. The steam will then turn a turbine to generate electricity. Keegan said he expects the $6 billion project to begin generating power by the second quarter of 2013...more

Shouldn't they be called TARP turtles?

Do you reckon BLM was under any pressure to meet that deadline?

First the Bushies pressured them on oil and gas, and now Obama pressures them on wind and solar.

Let's see, 30 percent of $6 billion is...you better damn well believe those turtles were gonna get moved.

There is more info from the AP, including the fact the project is by a German company.