For Immediate Release – April 3, 2012
Contacts:
Oliver Bernstein, Sierra Club,
512.289.8618, Oliver.Bernstein@sierraclub.org
Garrison
Frost, Audubon California, 323-601-1866
x 225, gfrost@audubon.org
Serena Ingre, Natural Resources Defense Council, 415.875.6155, singre@nrdc.org
Micah Mitrosky, IBEW, 619.957.2596, mmitrosky@ibew569.org
James Navarro, Defenders of Wildlife, 202-772-0247, jnavarro@defenders.org
New Appropriately Sited Solar Power Projects With Limited Effects on Habitat Will Create Local, Union Jobs, Invest in Long-term Conservation
Groups declare support for 600 megawatt solar projects in Imperial County, California
SAN DIEGO – Four
major conservation groups today announced their support for a set of proposed
large-scale solar power projects in Imperial County, Calif., because of the project
meets the need to promote well-located clean energy development, demonstrate the
care taken to address wildlife concerns, and create good union jobs. The
Sierra Club, Audubon California, Defenders of Wildlife and the Natural
Resources Defense Council all support the projects, which the Imperial County Board of Supervisors approved today.
When completed, the Mt. Signal, Calexico I and Calexico II
solar projects under development by 8minutenergy will produce about 600
megawatts of electricity each year, enough to power more than 200,000
households. The projects are located on privately owned, disturbed land
currently used to grow highly water-intensive landscaping grasses. The
biological effects from the projects are significantly less than proposed
renewable energy projects on environmentally sensitive public lands. These
Imperial County projects show that it is possible to develop viable,
cost-effective projects without sacrificing our precious desert wildlands.
"After close examination, the Sierra Club decided to
support these projects due to the developer’s willingness to provide support
and funding for a program that should provide a higher level of protection for
the imperiled burrowing owl, a species potentially affected by the large-scale
development of solar," said Bill
Corcoran, Western Regional Campaign Director for the Sierra Club's Beyond Coal
Campaign. "We strongly support moving the development of large-scale clean
energy projects away from pristine lands, and 8minutenergy’s proposal is an
appropriate balancing of solar energy production with the protection of our
natural legacy."
Importantly, the
Sierra Club introduced the developer to the International Brotherhood of
Electrical Workers, which was critical in helping to finalize a Project Labor Agreement
to employ local, Imperial Country workers for the projects. Imperial County has the highest unemployment rate in
California (27%), and the projects will provide important economic benefits to
the area.
"These projects are truly a win-win for local Imperial
County workers and the environment," said Johnny Simpson, Business Manager with the International Brotherhood of
Electrical Workers (IBEW) Local 569. "They will create good,
middle-class green jobs with skilled training, healthcare benefits and pension
retirement while reducing polluting greenhouse gas emissions that cause climate
change."
The projects will likely share and
co-locate transmission lines, towers and other infrastructure with other solar
developers and utilities, preventing additional threats to nearby lands and
communities.
"The Imperial Valley
is an Audubon Important Bird Area of global significance, and sensitive species
of birds depend on the agricultural lands for nesting, foraging and roosting,"
said Garry George, Renewable Energy
Project Director with Audubon California. "This project developer is
siting it right by carefully choosing the lands that have the least impact on
birds, and by working with the California Department of Fish & Game and
Audubon to avoid, minimize or mitigate for the species affected by the
project."
"The Mt. Signal Calexico I and Calexico II solar
projects show that solar development can be smart from the start," said Helen O’Shea, Deputy Director of NRDC’s
Western Renewable Energy Project. "NRDC supports these Imperial County
projects because they make use of appropriate lands that reduce on-site water
consumption and will bring clean energy to the grid faster."
"By choosing a project site with
very few impacts to wildlife, 8minuteenergy has shown that renewable energy can
be developed quickly and without sacrificing sensitive wildlife and wild lands,"
said Kim Delfino, Defenders
of Wildlife’s California program director. "These projects are shining examples of how to
develop solar energy right."
The Sierra Club testified in support of the projects at
today's Imperial County Board of Supervisors’ meeting.
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