From Watts Up With That?
It’s finally happening. The Ivanpah Solar Power Plant, the behemoth of bureaucratic blundering and incinerated wildlife, is circling the drain. Once celebrated as a game-changer for renewable energy, it’s now being quietly escorted off the stage with a “nothing to see here, folks” attitude. After just 11 years of struggling to justify its own existence, Ivanpah is headed for closure. Good riddance.
LOS ANGELES (AP) — What was once the world’s largest solar power plant of its type appears headed for closure just 11 years after opening, under pressure from cheaper green energy sources. Meanwhile, environmentalists continue to blame the Mojave Desert plant for killing thousands of birds and tortoises.
https://apnews.com/article/california-solar-energy-ivanpah-birds-tortoises-mojave-6d91c36a1ff608861d5620e715e1141c
The Big, Hot, Shiny Disaster
Ivanpah opened in 2014, with all the usual pomp and circumstance, hailed as a “breakthrough moment for clean energy.” It sprawled over five square miles of federal land in the Mojave Desert, a shiny testament to the boundless hubris of central planners who thought they could beat the free market with subsidies and a prayer.
The concept was dazzling—350,000 computer-controlled mirrors would reflect sunlight onto boilers atop three massive towers, creating steam to turn turbines. It was supposed to be a triumph of innovation. Instead, it became a cautionary tale about what happens when green energy dreams collide with reality.
Reality Strikes Back
The plant has faced problems from the very start. First, it never produced as much electricity as promised. The reason? The sun didn’t shine as much as expected. Yes, you read that correctly. Somehow, the geniuses behind this project failed to account for… clouds.
Another unexpected problem: not enough sun. Weather predictions for the area underestimated the amount of cloud cover that has blanketed Ivanpah since it went into service in 2013.
https://ca.audubon.org/news/ivanpah-fails-deliver-energy-promise
Then there was the minor issue of mass wildlife casualties. Conservationists tried to warn the bright-eyed eco-planners that plopping a giant death ray in the middle of the Mojave might not be the best idea. But they were dismissed—until reports started rolling in of birds bursting into flames mid-flight as they passed through the intense reflected sunlight. The phenomenon was dubbed “streamers” because, well, that’s what happens when a bird spontaneously combusts.
A new study by consultants hired by the Ivanpah Solar Facility in the Mojave Desert estimate that the plant killed somewhere between 2,500 and 6,700 birds in its first year. Their best guess is the actual number is around 3,500. The facility got a lot of attention from bird conservationists when observers reported seeing birds actually catch on fire in middair near the intense heat generated by the facility.
And let’s not forget the desert tortoises, another unintended casualty. Environmentalists initially fought the plant’s construction, arguing it would destroy pristine habitat. They were right. But instead of admitting defeat, the Sierra Club and others spun this disaster as a “learning experience” about how not all renewable energy projects are created equal.
The Inevitable Economic Collapse
Even if Ivanpah hadn’t been a wildlife crematorium, it still couldn’t make the numbers work. Pacific Gas & Electric (PG&E), which had agreed to buy power from Ivanpah, has decided to cut its losses. The utility company announced it will terminate its contracts with the plant, stating that keeping them would be a waste of money. In corporate-speak: “PG&E determined that ending the agreements at this time will save customers money”.
Southern California Edison, which buys the remaining power, is also looking for an escape route. When even California utilities, which have bent over backward to subsidize and mandate renewable energy, decide you’re a lost cause, you know the end is near.
What Now?
The plan is to start shutting down Ivanpah’s operations by 2026, though the original contracts were supposed to last until 2039. That means we get to clean up this mess a full 13 years earlier than expected. The owners, including NRG Energy, are now talking about possibly repurposing the site for photovoltaic solar panels instead. Because that technology, unlike Ivanpah’s glorified magnifying glass, kinda sorta works, sometimes… well better than Ivanpah at least, leading to this awesome quote:
NRG said in a statement that the project was successful, but unable to compete with rival photovoltaic solar technology — such as rooftop panels — which have much lower capital and operating costs.
https://apnews.com/article/california-solar-energy-ivanpah-birds-tortoises-mojave-6d91c36a1ff608861d5620e715e1141c
But the question remains: Who’s going to pay for this transition? The same taxpayers who funded this failed experiment in the first place? That part hasn’t been answered, but if history is any guide, the bill will find its way to the public. Socal Edison is begging the Department of Energy to buy them out. The same DoE that wasted money funding this boondoggle in the first place.
Lessons from the Wreckage
Ivanpah is a shining (literally) example of what happens when ideology replaces sound economic and engineering principles. It was never about producing reliable, cost-effective energy. It was about making a grand, symbolic gesture in the fight against climate change. And as with most grand, symbolic gestures, reality eventually caught up.
So let’s all take a moment to bid farewell to Ivanpah, the multimillion-dollar death trap that killed birds, displaced tortoises, and wasted billions—all for an energy source that couldn’t even compete with rooftop solar.
Goodbye, Ivanpah. You won’t be missed.
H/T Clyde Spencer, doonman, Resouceguy, Yirgach
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