BLM Identifies Preferred Alternative for Gemini Solar Project in Nevada: Is There a Better Alternative on the Table?

By Greg Hibbard, Energy Law Fellow

Department of Energy

On June 7th, the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) announced it published a Draft Environmental Impact Statement (DEIS) for the Gemini Solar Project in Nevada. The DEIS is available through the BLM’s website.  If this project is completed, it will establish one of the largest solar facilities in the world. Although this project has the potential to provide significant renewable energy benefits, it also threatens other environmental harms due to its immense size. Specifically, the project threatens the habitat of the endangered Mojave desert tortoise (desert tortoise).

The Gemini Solar Project will be located approximately 33 miles northeast of Las Vegas and will span roughly 7,100 acres. The project will have a nameplate capacity of 690 megawatts and is projected to operate for 30 years. The benefits of the project should not be understated. The solar power produced by the project will help the states of Nevada and California reach their renewable energy portfolio standard (RPS) goals. In particular, the project will provide energy to Las Vegas and southern California.  Although Nevada currently sources only 20 percent of its electricity from renewable sources, the state’s RPS goals require that share to jump to 50% by 2030. Additionally, the BLM estimates that California will need to acquire several more gigawatts of renewable energy to meet its 2030 goal of 60 percent renewable energy.

The BLM’s DEIS considers four potential actions to implement the project: the proposed action, which calls for the project to be constructed using “traditional” methods, an all mowing alternative, a hybrid alternative, and a no action alternative. These alternatives are primarily distinguished by construction method. The analysis contemplates two methods of construction: traditional and mowing. The analysis defines traditional methods to include a “disk and roll” technique that would completely remove the vegetation and compact the soil. On the other hand, the mowing method would simply require mowing the vegetation in the area to a height of 18 to 24 inches. Importantly, according to the BLM, much of the vegetation in the area is already shorter than 24 inches in height.  The methods also vary in how they would accommodate the desert tortoise. While both methods would require the installation of fencing around the project, the fencing installed under the traditional method would prevent the desert tortoise from accessing the area during the life of the project. Under the mowing method, the fencing would be lifted off of the ground to allow for tortoise movement. Another important difference in the methods is the potential for lasting impact on the area. If the project employs traditional methods of construction, vegetation in the area may require over a century to recover after the project is decommissioned. Mowing the project area, however, would largely maintain pre-project vegetation conditions throughout the life of the project. As a result, prior vegetation conditions would be restored quickly after the project is decommissioned.

In addition to the proposed action and all mowing alternative, the DEIS also considers a hybrid alternative that would entail mowing 65 percent of the solar development area (4,460 acres) and constructing the remaining 35 percent of the area (2,578 acres) with traditional methods. Lastly, the DEIS considers a “no action” alternative under which the project would not be built. At this stage of the process, the BLM identifies the hybrid alternative as the preferred alternative.

The potential impacts to the desert tortoise vary across the four alternatives. The project’s proposed action would effectively remove desert tortoise habitat across all 7,100 acres of the project—displacing 215 adult tortoises in the process. The BLM acknowledges that there would be no opportunity for tortoise relocation in the area and that this “take” of the species would be substantially adverse to the species and local population. The BLM appears to have identified the hybrid alternative as the preferred alternative, in part, because it would maintain habitat on 65 percent of the project area and allow tortoises to reoccupy the mowed portion of the project area after construction is completed. Under the hybrid alternative, the BLM anticipates that 183 adult tortoises would reoccupy the area and an additional 36 adults would be moved to another area. However, of the four alternatives considered, the all mowing alternative would best serve the desert tortoise. The analysis estimates that 220 adult tortoises would be expected to reoccupy the area with an additional 34 translocated to a nearby region if mowing was used across the entire project.

The BLM’s DEIS does not sufficiently explain why the hybrid alternative is preferred in light of the fact that the all mowing alternative would minimize effects to the desert tortoise. Economic factors may be one justification, as the all mowing alternative will likely require increased labor and may extend the duration of construction. However, the BLM’s analysis notes that increased labor would create more employment opportunities and economic output for local communities, including local tribes. Additionally, due to the large amount of vacant housing available, the labor increase would not affect housing or public services. Uncertainty may have also played a role in the BLM’s determination. The DEIS provides that few solar projects have been constructed using the all mowing method. Nevertheless, the potential uncertainty does not seem to have been a prevalent factor in the decision to identify the hybrid alternative as the preferred course of action because the hybrid alternative is primarily dependent on the mowing method.

The potential for one of the largest solar facilities in the world to come online in the relatively near future is exciting. However, the Gemini Solar Project risks seemingly unnecessary harm to the endangered Mojave desert tortoise and the surrounding environment. Based on the DEIS, there is no reason why the benefits of the project cannot be secured with relatively minimal impacts to the desert tortoise. Therefore, with its final EIS, the BLM should either fully explain why the hybrid alternative is worth the additional harm to the desert tortoise or identify the all mowing alternative as the most appropriate action. Interested parties can provide their own thoughts on the issue to the BLM until the 90-day comment period closes on September 5, 2019.