A California-based renewable energy company is reportedly planning to cut down thousands of protected Joshua trees in the Mojave Desert to make way for a solar project that will power about 180,000 homes in coastal areas instead of the affected areas.
The Los Angeles Times reported that Avantas plans to build the Alatina solar project on 2,300 acres of land near two towns in Kern County, California: Boron and Desert Lake.
Residents of the impoverished town resent the project, not just because of construction dust but also because the land on which the solar farm would be built is home to endangered desert tortoises.
Residents’ concerns were reportedly ignored by county officials, who approved the plan unanimously.
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The Mojave Desert landscape is a mix of native grasslands and Joshua trees. (Gina Ferrazzi/Los Angeles Times via Getty Images)
“That seems to be the mentality: Let’s destroy the environment to save it,” Derrick English, a teacher at Boron Middle and High School, told the Los Angeles Times. “It’s hard to understand.”
California’s efforts to establish and generate clean energy are shrouded in controversy, including the Alatina project, which highlights the trade-offs state and local officials are willing to make in their efforts.
To develop solar and wind farms used to reduce greenhouse gases and slow climate change, projects like Alatina destroy undeveloped land and harm wildlife and endangered plants.
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Solar panels are installed at the University of California, Merced solar power plant in Merced, California, on August 17, 2022. (Reuters/Nathan Frandino/File Photo)
These projects also affect smaller nearby communities, which lack the political power to block such projects.
The Times spoke to a person briefed on the project, who reportedly declined to be named because he was not authorized to speak about the Arathina project.
Officials told the newspaper that crews plan to start clearing trees on the Alatina Project site, which includes Joshua Tree, on Monday.
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A solar power project in Boron, California, threatens to cut down more than 3,500 Joshua trees. (Photo: Josh Brasted/Getty Images)
To reduce visibility of the felling operation, crews will deploy machinery on-site to crush the trees rather than piling them up or loading them onto trucks to haul away.
Fox News Digital reached out to Avantas and Kern County for comment on the project but did not immediately receive a response.
Still, the company notes on its website how the project will impact the Joshua Tree area.
“Avantas is committed to protecting native Mojave plants like Joshua trees while also protecting California’s ability to meet its clean energy goals and the economic and climate benefits that come with them,” the company said. “While trees will be affected during the project’s construction, a much larger number of Joshua trees are threatened by climate change due to increased greenhouse gas emissions. The Alatina Solar Project directly addresses this climate change.”
In the project’s environmental impact statement posted on the Kern County website, Avantas said there are approximately 4,700 Joshua trees on the site, more than 500 of which are 16 feet tall.
A person familiar with the project told the Los Angeles Times that the company plans to destroy 3,500 Joshua trees.
The company also addressed how Alatina will affect local wildlife, saying it has a “good track record” with wildlife agencies and environmental groups, and that past projects have garnered support from the Sierra Club, Audubon California, Wildlife Conservation Society and the Natural Resources Defense Council.
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A proposed solar project on 2,300 acres in Boron, California, is threatening turtles and Joshua trees. (Scholten Singer/Herald-Dispatch via The Associated Press, File)
“We design each of our projects to avoid or minimise potential impacts to endangered and threatened species and ensure appropriate mitigation measures are provided where appropriate,” the company said.
Regarding concerns about dust, the company maintains that dust suppression measures will be in place to control and minimise any potential impacts on construction workers and the surrounding area.
The Kern County Board of Supervisors approved the Alatina project in October 2021, but the project will bring in $3 million in sales tax and $73 million in property taxes, according to Alexander Sundquist, who briefed county officials before the decision.
County officials claim Avantas has set aside $1.4 million to protect Joshua trees in other parts of the state, the paper reported, and the company has reportedly purchased grazing rights to 215 acres of federal land in the county and plans to work with officials to protect the land.
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The company has remained quiet about where the electricity will be sent, but the Times reported that it has inked deals to send some of the electricity to Silicon Valley Clean Energy and Central Coast Community Energy, both nonprofits that provide green energy to homes.
The California Legislature approved the Western Joshua Tree Protection Act, which bans cutting the trees without a permit, in 2023. But the Alatina Project was approved by state officials before the Western Joshua Tree Protection Act was approved and before the state listed Joshua trees for protection under the state’s Endangered Species Act.
