Sun setting on Tessera Solar’s California power plant?


23 Nov 2010

A solar plant that had recently gained the approval of the state of California, US, has had the date of approval pushed back to December 1st, when a vote has been scheduled.

The California Energy Commission has stayed the effective date of the approval for US solar business, Tessera Solar’s, project, and scheduled a vote for December 1 to address ‘clerical errors’, which have to do with the effective date of the decision.

The December 1 vote will address only the effective date, not the substance of the decision.

Reuters had reported the US solar business had not filed the required written findings about Calico environmental consequences when the project was approved.

The 664-megawatt solar power plant had gained the approval of state and federal governments for the development of the energy plant in California’s San Bernardino County last October.

Legal action

There is also the possibility of legal action against Calico, due to its “impact on imperilled desert tortoise, fringe-toed lizard and other wildlife”.

Tessera is also facing opposition from an Indian Tribe – the Quechan – to another of its projects, the Imperial Valley Solar Project, which will be built near the Mexican border. The Quechan have filed a lawsuit claiming the plant would harm certain species of wildlife that occupy the land.

Tessera Solar’s California-based solar project was the first utility-scale solar power project issued with the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) Record of Decision in the US.