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Owens Lake as solar power plant? The DWP seeks to build a 660-acre pilot project on the dry lake bed — and avoid doing an environmental impact report

Posted by: Aqua Blog Maven on December 2, 2009 at 6:17 am

owens-lake-1-2009From the Los Angeles Times:

“Nearly a century after Los Angeles drained Owens Lake by diverting its water to the Los Angeles Aqueduct, the city now hopes to generate solar energy on the dusty salt flats it left behind.

The Department of Water and Power’s board of commissioners Tuesday unanimously approved a renewable energy pilot project that would cover 616 acres of lake bed with solar arrays — a possible precursor to a mammoth solar farm that could cover thousands of acres.

City utility officials hope that, along with generating power for L.A., the solar panels would reduce the fierce dust storms that rise from the dry lake bed. To comply with federal clean air standards, the DWP must control the dust that has plagued the Owens Valley for decades. Its efforts are part of a $500-million dust mitigation plan.

The solar project still must win approval from the California State Lands Commission, and that may be a difficult task. The commission’s executive officer Tuesday said he had serious concerns about the size of the “demonstration” project and the DWP’s plans to seek an exemption from a state environmental impact review. … “

Read more from the Los Angeles Times by clicking here.

To learn more about the Los Angeles Aqueduct, check out Aquafornia’s slideshow:

Picture Tour Of La Aqueduct
View more presentations from Aquafornia.

December 2, 2009 · Filed Under Owens Valley & Mono Lake

Comments

One Response to “Owens Lake as solar power plant? The DWP seeks to build a 660-acre pilot project on the dry lake bed — and avoid doing an environmental impact report”

  1. Ariel on December 14th, 2009 3:14 pm

    Simple dust reduction… fill it back up!

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