San Bernardino County Votes to Uphold Utility-scale Solar Ban in Rural Deserts
^Desert dandelions near the Granite Mountains and Lucerne Valley.
February 28, 2019 - San Bernardino County CA - Great news! Local residents, voters, and tax-payers let their supervisors know loudly and clearly at a special hearing that they value the desert ecosystems, wildlands, wildflower fileds, Joshua tree woddlands, scenic vistas, and quality of life of their rural and local communities. Not industrial utility-scale solar projects which bulldoze thousands of acres.
Huge numbers of ocal residents spoke in support of the proposed ban, known as Renewable Energy Policy 4.10, which would have allowed large-scale solar developments to be built in rural county lands and unincorporated areas.
The policy is part of the broader Renewable Energy and Conservation Element (RECE) in the county’s General Plan. Policy 4.10 would minimize the impact on desert residents by prohibiting utility-scale renewable energy developments in zones designated as rural living, and the communities of Bloomington, Muscoy, Bear Valley, Crest Forest, Hilltop, Lake Arrowhead, Lytle Creek, Oak Glen, Homestead Valley, Joshua Tree, Lucerne Valley, Morongo Valley, Oak Hills and Phelan/Phelan Hills. Developers could still build on land previously used for mining or agriculture.
Unfortunately, more remote desert areas in Amboy, El Mirage, Hinkley, Kramer Junction and Trona do not get such a ban. Kramer Junction has high-value desert tortoise habitat, as well as a newly-discovered population of Mohave ground squirrels. Trona has scenic Pinnacles used in Hollywood movies. And allowing indutrial energy development around Hinckley, on top of groundwater pollution problems, is an Environmental Justice issue.
^Left out? Wildflowers around Trona, San Bernardino County.
Yet developers told the supervisors this was "too restrictive."
Residents strongly supported rooftop solar and Distributed Energy Resources that do not harm the quality of life, nor create dust storms.
Supervisor Robert Lovingood said residents “spoke clearly about what they want to see."
“If we don’t adopt this, that’s just spitting in their face,” he said, adding that the county has already designated several smaller areas where renewable energy projects could be approved.
The hard work of many local communities opposing this kind of energy development sprawl in scenic rural areas won the day. See Homestead Valley's website, and their Resolution opposing the county lifting the moratorium on large-scale solar projects in rural living zones.
We owe it to our friends at Mojave Watch and Morongo Basin Conservation Association, who helped organize and push San Bernardino County residents to speak up.
Los Angeles Times: https://www.latimes.com/business/la-fi-san-bernardino-solar-renewable-energy-20190228-story.html
Background: