Soda Mountain Solar, LLC proposes to construct, operate, and maintain a utility-scale solar photovoltaic (solar panels) generating and storage facility to generate renewable electricity which will be exported to Southern California. The project would be built right next to the Mojave National Preserve. The Soda Mountain Solar Project would generate up to 300 megawatts (MW) of solar energy and include up to 300 MW of battery storage. The project will impact 2,670 acres (4 square miles) of land administered by the U.S. Bureau of Land Management (BLM), California Desert District. 

The Soda Mountain Solar Project is a true zombie solar project. We have opposed this same project since 2009. While the BLM approved the project against the will of the public in 2016, it was rejected by San Bernardino County stating "“It is hard to justify damaging sensitive desert lands when we have disturbed lands near transmission corridors that are ideally suited". The Los Angeles Department of Water and Power also cancelled their power purchase agreement with the project in 2015 over the impacts it would have on the California Desert. 

Prior to the June 30, 2022, signing of Assembly Bill (AB) 205, the California Energy Commission's (CEC) powerplant licensing jurisdiction was limited to thermal powerplants 50 megawatts or larger. To accelerate the state’s transition to renewable energy, AB 205, as modified by AB 209 expands the types of facilities that can be certified by the CEC. This is how the state ignored the wishes of San Bernardino County. 

During the February 5, 2026, California Energy Commission meeting on the Soda Mountain Solar Project, Staff recommended that the Commission issue a Statement of Overriding Considerations—a rubber stamp that ignores significant and unmitigable impacts. Over the years we have watched CEC issue these overriding considerations numerous times, and the entire commenting process begins to seem like a waste of time for the public. 

The project will inflict unnecessary impacts to:

Desert Bighorn Sheep: The Soda Mountain Solar Project is adjacent to an essential bighorn herd in the Cady Mountains that uses the south Soda Mountains extensively. A movement corridor would be partly blocked by the solar project, which needs 8-foot-tall chain-link security fences surrounding the project and which excludes large wildlife, completely blocking any movement by bighorn. The California Energy Commission admits that construction and operation of this solar project would have significant and unavoidable impacts that cannot be fully mitigated. 

The Soda Mountain Wildlife Crossing over I-15 has been in the works for years, and that project has become a necessity with the future Brightline West high-speed rail project in the planning stages to parallel the interstate highway, further blocking any remaining bighorn connectivity. 

Mojave Desert Tortoise: Federally threatened Mojave desert tortoises also inhabit these alluvial fans. Already in severe decline, habitat for this federally threatened species is being chopped up little by little each year. The site is an important connectivity corridor for tortoises.

Mojave Fringe-Toed Lizards: Mojave fringe-toed lizard populations have been significantly impacted by large-scale solar developments in Chuckwalla Valley, Riverside County, CA, and the cumulative impacts of the Soda Mountain Solar Project as well as sand transport impacts need to be considered.

Kit Foxes, American Badgers and Burrowing Owls will also lose 4 square muiles of habitat. 

Groundwater Resources:  The project would use water sourced from up to five new on-site groundwater wells within the Soda Lake Valley Groundwater Basin in San Bernardino County, California. The project will need 320 acre feet for construction and 6 acre feet per year for operation. Groundwater eventually ends up in the Mojave River. While the CEC determines that impacts would be less than significant, we are concerned that water use could impact the springs at Zzyzx in the Mojave National Preserve where the federally endangered Mojave tui-chub resides. Water should be trucked in, not depleted.

Lithium Battery Fires: 300 MW of Battery Energy Storage System (BESS) Lithium battery storage is proposed with the solar project. The City of Baker fire and emergency response services is concerned during public comments over the lack of equipment to fight thermal runaway from lithium battery fires, which have been shown to burn hot for long times Interstate 15 was closed for two days in 2024 due to a truck tipping over and causing a BESS Lithium fire which burned for 2 days.

Old Spanish National Historic Trail: The congressionally designated alignment of the Armijo Route of the Old Spanish National Historic Trail (OSNHT) is present just outside of the visual analysis area to the east and south of the project. The visual analysis determines the project will not be seen from the trail, yet the trail is only 3.4 miles from the project site. 

The Interior Department (Bureau of Land Management/National Park Service) has for a long time failed to implement a required Old Spanish National Historic Trail Comprehensive Management Plan, but suggets a 5 mile buffer. The analysis of this project should be paused until a Comprehensive Management Plan can be established for the Old Spanish National Historic Trail. 

Visual Resources: Located directly adjacent to the Mojave National Preserve, the CEC has concluded that "Visual impacts would be significant and unavoidable. Project components would appear as a collection of geometric shapes and complex industrial forms that would exhibit considerable industrial character, which would contrast with the natural forms, lines, and textures of the existing desert landscape character."

The BLM has designated the region as a Visual Resource Management (VRM) Class IV project but the designation has been updated to include the standards of the Desert Renewable Energy Conservation Plan. This review could be paused until a plan amendment could be made to upgrade the VRM Class to VRM Class II. The objective of VRM Class II is to: “To retain the existing character of the landscape. Allowed Level of Change: The level of change to the characteristic landscape should be low. Management activities may be seen, but should not attract the attention of the casual observer."

Sample Letter

Below is a letter you can copy and send to the California Energy Commission. If you add your own thoughts, it will be more effective. Tell CEC to select a No Project Alternative for the Soda Mountain Solar Project. Comments are due on February 27th, 2026.

Click on this link to submit your comment and follow the instructions. You can either upload a long comment, or paste the comment directly into comment text.

 "Please select a No Project Alternative for the Soda Mountain Solar Project.

The California Energy Commission (CEC) has concluded that this project will have significant and unavoidable impacts to desert bighorn sheep. The project is adjacent to an essential bighorn herd in the Cady Mountains that uses the south Soda Mountains extensively. A movement corridor would be partly blocked by the solar project, which needs 8-foot-tall chain-link security fences surrounding the project and which excludes large wildlife, completely blocking any movement by bighorn.

The CEC has concluded that the project will have significant and unavoidable impacts to visual resources. The project would be adjacent to the Mojave National Preserve and violated the visual standards implemented by the Desert Renewable Energy Conservation Plan.

The project will block connectivity for the federally threatened and California State Endangered Mojave Desert Tortoise.

Sand transport would be blocked and habitat would be removed for Mojave fringe-toed lizard.

Habitat would be removed for rare plants, kit foxes, American badgers and burrowing owls.

The project would extract water from 5 onsite wells adding to a cumulative groundwater decline for the springs at Zzyzx and for the federally endangered Mojave tui-chub. An alternative using offsite wells was not selected.

Lithium battery banks or BESS storage could cause a thermal runaway fire which would emit toxic smoke and chemicals to the local environment and endanger motorists on Interstate 15. An alternative eliminating lithium battery storage was not considered. 

The analysis of this project should be paused until a Comprehensive Management Plan can be established for the Old Spanish National Historic Trail.  

The location of the Soda Mountain Solar Project was not designated for solar energy development under the Desert Renewable Energy Conservation Plan. The Soda Mountain area is not a Development Focus Area. 

Caltrans is building a wildlife crossing over Interstate 15 to maintain linkage for desert bighorn sheep, but the Soda Mountain project would block it.

For these reasons, CEC must select a No Project Alternative!

Thank you"

More on Desert Bighorn Sheep

As numerous commenters, nonprofits, hunting organizations, scientists, and agency personnel have stated over many years, this is one of the worst places to site a large-scale solar energy project because it would block and degrade crucial connectivity for bighorn sheep.

The Soda Mountain Solar Project is adjacent to an essential bighorn herd in the Cady Mountains that uses the south Soda Mountains extensively. A movement corridor would be partly blocked by the solar project, which needs 8-foot-tall chain-link security fences surrounding the project and which excludes large wildlife, completely blocking any movement by bighorn.

The Soda Mountain Wildlife Crossing over I-15 has been in the works for years, and that project has become a necessity with the future Brightline West high-speed rail project in the planning stages to parallel the interstate highway, further blocking any remaining bighorn connectivity. CalTrans on its website described the importance of the Soda Mountain Wildlife Crossing project well, a project supported by millions of dollars of California taxpayer’s funds:

The need for the proposed project is based on desert bighorn sheep genetic and tracking data that demonstrates I-15 is a movement barrier for sheep that have historically traveled between the northern mountain ranges and southern mountain ranges. While there are several under-crossings (washes and large box culverts) present throughout the I-15, data shows desert bighorn sheep are less likely to move through these structures, unlike other medium and large mammals such as bobcats and mountain lions. Like other large mammals, desert bighorn sheep need large, connected habitats to breed and thrive. I-15 divides the previously connected ranges into isolated habitat fragments. This decreases desert bighorn sheep genetic diversity, increases inbreeding, and increases territorial disputes amongst males. The fragmentation of habitat currently forces desert bighorn sheep to cross over I-15, increasing risk of vehicular crashes and desert bighorn sheep fatalities. From 2007 to 2020, at least 59 desert bighorn sheep were killed by vehicles in California. Dedicated wildlife crossings are needed to restore wildlife connectivity. 

CalTrans goes on to describe the project (one of three wildlife crossings along I-15) as a bridge with three-span cast-in-place/prestressed concrete box girder structures with openings for the existing northbound and southbound I-15 lanes and the future Brightline West rail in the median.  The bridges are proposed to be 100 feet wide and 240 feet to 400 feet long. Railing and fencing will be installed at the edges of the bridges and chain link directional fencing will also be installed at various lengths along the access control line to direct wildlife to the crossings. The surface of the bridges will be composed of native materials to match the characteristics of the surrounding areas. The dedicated wildlife crossings will provide safe and sustainable passages for bighorn sheep and other wildlife across I-15 that restores bighorn sheep wildlife connectivity and allow for the safe movement of animals, and the exchange of genetic material. The project will assist in restoring and enhancing wildlife connectivity among meta-population fragments of bighorn sheep and facilitate crossing of the I-15 of other species.

Brightline on its website says that it has worked with Caltrans and California Department of Fish and Wildlife (CDFW) to develop a coordinated plan to fund, design, construct and maintain these wildlife overcrossings. 

CEC Staff admits that construction of the Soda Mountain Solar Project cannot be mitigated to have less than significant impacts to bighorn sheep here. The large-scale solar project would disrupt bighorn movement and use of important habitat, and has the potential to jeopardize the entire Soda Mountain desert bighorn herd.

Staff admits that construction and operation of this solar project would have significant and unavoidable impacts that cannot be fully mitigated. Staff recommended to the Commission an alternative that reduces impacts to bighorn by using a 0.25 mile buffer of the solar field from the connectivity corridor, and by relocating the Lithium Battery Energy Storage System away from this corridor (Alternative 2).

California Department of Fish and Wildlife has commented that they were the original lead agency under the California Environmental Policy Act (CEQA), and they found significant and unmitigable impacts to bighorn sheep in this area from the proposed solar project. The solar applicant then took advantage of the AB 205 Opt-In process where they could ditch CDFW as the lead agency under CEQA and switch to the California Energy Commission which was named under that state law to be able to streamline and circumvent laws and push projects forward.

CDFW found substantial impacts to streambed alteration and incidental take of species listed under the California Endangered Species Act. Mojave desert tortoise and Western burrowing owl have impacts that need the best possible mitigation. Bighorn sheep are a fully protected species that may have impacts from the solar project that are not mitigable. The applicant chose to withdraw from the CEQA review where CDFW was the lead agency, and transfer to CEC as the lead agency, knowing that the recent change in state law would afford them an easier path for streamlined environmental review under the CEC. This apparently is resulting in the circumvention of bighorn sheep impacts.

Desert bighorn sheep need flatlands in addition to mountains as foraging areas and stepping-stones in providing connectivity. Bighorn will use areas of less than 10% slope in order to cross basins between mountain ranges. These flatlands are important bighorn habitat, just as much as steep mountain terrain is.

The Soda Mountain-Cady Mountain area bighorn sheep are one of the most important populations in the Mojave Desert, connecting Joshua Tree National Park populations with bighorn in Death Valley National Park.

Staff is not recommending the best science in their recommendations. We photographed this herd of desert bighorn sheep at springs and rush (Juncus) meadows next to Zzzyx, at the base of the Soda Mountains. This is very close to the proposed giant solar project, which is proposed just around the ridge to the west of this scene.

We agree with bighorn sheep biologist Clinton Epps from Oregon State University who gave public comments about his research into this bighorn population numerous times in front of the agencies, including during the February 5, 2026, public meeting held by the CEC. He has been studying this system since 1999. Populations of desert bighorn are small, with probably not more than about 5,000 in California. Each mountain range in the desert has dozens to a few hundred bighorn at most.  Survival in this harsh environment depends on the ability to move either seasonally or permanently between mountain ranges: to seek forage and water sources or to disperse. Genetic diversity is maintained between populations north of I-15 and those to the south. Soda Mountain was colonized from the Cady Mountains, and a new wildlife overpass crossing is planned over I-15 in order to mitigate the planned high speed train track which will block all connectivity along the freeway. I-15 has certain wash undercrossings that sheep sometimes may use, but a train track would completely block these. 

Epps is concerned that sheep would not have time to familiarize themselves with any new wildlife overcrossing if a vast solar project were constructed before the train corridor was built. Bighorn also occasionally use the desert flatlands to forage, where the solar project is proposed. This is all habitat.

Epps has serious concerns with the latest iteration of this solar project in a key connectivity link that is critical for genetic diversity. The proposed 0.25-mile buffer is inadequate and based on vert old recommendations. Since 2013, GPS-collared bighorn show that locations below 10% slope are still important to sheep populations as they use these areas for forage. A buffer needs to be at least 0.6 to 1.2 miles. Epps recommended that the solar project be delayed until the wildlife crossing is built.

We support the public comment by wildlife biologist Christine Aiello, coauthor of the Wildlands Network connectivity study with the National Park Service pointing out that the Soda Mountain Wildlife Crossing is of the highest priority. A quarter-mile buffer is not large enough to reduce impacts of the solar project to bighorn to less than significant. The bighorn sheep need a stable, safe natural environment as part of their connectivity movements. Bighorn make behavioral decisions based on what they see at a distance.

We believe that the solar project would easily be visible from the wildlife crossing, and could scare off bighorn from using the overcrossing. The CEC needs to follow the science and not dismiss the huge and very significant impacts of this large solar project next to a planned wildlife overcrossing.

Approving the solar project could negate the wildlife crossing structure.

Soda Mountain Solar Project 2.0 Will Harm Desert Bighorns and Wildflowers

December 30, 2025 - San Bernardino County, California - We have been opposing and following this utility-scale solar power project for years, and as often happens with these poorly-sited projects on public lands, we think we have stopped them—and then they later suddenly bounce back. We call these Zombie Projects. 

And for the umpteenth time, we are not against solar energy—it just needs to go on rooftops, over parking lots, and fill in already-disturbed lands. This is not disturbed land, but a thriving Mojave Desert ecosystem full of wildflowers, lizards, desert tortoises, kit foxes, burrowing owls, and more. See our March 2014 wildflower field report at https://www.basinandrangewatch.org/Soda-Mt-Spring.html. Why destroy this?

The power plant project site lies right on the boundary of the Mojave National Preserve next to a scientific research station at the desert outpost of Zzyzx, California. 

(Pronounced “ZYE-ZIX,” we desert rats like to think some joker wanted to make sure they were the absolute last entry in the old phone book.)

Zzyzx was originally called Soda Springs because of the rare desert springs there, which attract desert bighorn sheep (Ovis canadensis nelsoni) to drink. The property is now part of the Mojave National Preserve, and California State University operates a Desert Studies Center there.

The imperiled Mohave tui chub (Siphateles bicolor mohavensis), a desert fish that once inhabited the nearby Mojave River, was placed in a spring-fed refugium lake at the Zzyzx research center in order to conserve it from potential extinction.

This is all to emphasize the importance of water in the area: groundwater, spring water, the Mojave River, and associated biodiversity. Photovoltaic solar power plants often pump and extract a lot of groundwater with new wells, water trucks to try to control dust during construction, and often alter surface hydrology with thousands of acres of new industrial development.

The new 2,700-acre Soda Mountain Solar Project (300 megawatts) would be built on Bureau of Land Management land adjacent to the Mojave National Preserve. The State of California has released a 1,300 page Environmental Impact Report (EIR). The project will hurt local bighorn sheep populations. The project was rejected by San Bernardino County in 2016, but the California governor was not happy and turned jurisdiction over to the California Energy Commission—an elaborate rubber stamp agency.

Here is what the agencies say about bighorn sheep in the EIR: 

“The proposed project would result in significant and unavoidable impacts to desert bighorn sheep (Ovis canadensis nelsoni) individuals and their movement within and surrounding the project area. This species is designated as Fully Protected by the California Department of Fish and Wildlife (CDFW), pursuant to California Fish and Game Code Section 4700. Additionally, significant and unavoidable impacts would occur as a result of inconsistencies with applicable California Fish and Game Code sections that prohibit take of fully-protected species. Desert bighorn sheep in the Soda and Cady Mountains form a critical part of the Mojave Desert metapopulation and rely on intermountain movement corridors for gene flow, recolonization, and access to seasonal resources. While desert bighorn sheep are known to move within and around the project area, staff is concerned that these areas would be avoided during construction and operation due to increased human presence and limited site availability through the solar arrays. Additionally, the proposed project could compromise the use of the planned wildlife crossing being installed as part of the Brightline West High-Speed Rail Project, which is located within 1.25 miles of the project area and is designed to restore connectivity between desert bighorn sheep populations fragmented by I-15. Impacts that displace sheep, remove important foraging habitat, or result in mortality or decreased fitness would be considered significant and unavoidable.” 

So an expensive wildlife crossing overpass structure is to be built over highway 15 near Zzyzx as part of mitigation for a high-speed rail project, but this giant solar project would compromise the wildlife crossing? We say No!

The Soda Mountain docket page on the California Energy Commission website is here: https://efiling.energy.ca.gov/Lists/DocketLog.aspx?docketnumber=24-OPT-03&fbclid=IwY2xjawPBdwdleHRuA2FlbQIxMABicmlkETE3dXRaUVJRMjNvT0ZLbURmc3J0YwZhcHBfaWQQMjIyMDM5MTc4ODIwMDg5MgABHit021y70tnNF2WU250LRCysaU9MHl6jPMH1uKRdKECHyjhYzNdGgQtQiwK2_aem_qm-feUz-lVw0BzwWOdLEjQ

You have until 2/27/26 to submit comments.

We will provide our comments and talking points before the deadline. Stay tuned! (Make sure to download and keep any documents from this state website, as they tend to disappear after a few years.)

Wildlife connectivity would be harmed by this zombie project that new companies try to revive, as we reported in 2015 at https://www.basinandrangewatch.org/SodaMountain.html:

Bighorn Sheep Experts Say Project Would Harm Connectivity

January 13, 2015 - Two noted wildlife biologists have written a column describing how important the Soda Mountain valley is for bighorn sheep connectivity. John Wehausen, Ph.D., an applied population ecologist who has studied bighorn sheep populations in California since 1974, and Clinton Epps, Ph.D., an associate professor at Oregon State University who specializes in mammal conservation.

They write, “The proposed Soda Mountain Solar Project would straddle Interstate 15 and cover areas between the north and south Soda Mountains on the northwestern edge of the Mojave National Preserve, pinching off the best location to re-establish important bighorn sheep movements that have been severed by I-15. The proposed development, which would include solar arrays, infrastructure and roads, would likely prevent bighorn from moving through the project area.”

The broad connection between bighorn populations in Mojave National Preserve and Death Valley National Park could be impacted by cutting off the already tenuous movement corridors between these areas, say the biologists:

“Our research finds that the Soda Mountains connection is a particularly important restorable corridor in the southeastern desert region of California, where a wildlife overpass would re-establish migration affecting numerous bighorn sheep populations on either side of I-15.”

They emphasize, “While we recognize the importance of investing in a renewable energy future that buffers us from the worst impacts of climate change and enhances our nation’s energy independence, we strongly believe that this can be done in a manner that does not jeopardize the ecological integrity of our national parks, wilderness areas and wildlife.”

See more at The Daily Bulletin.

The California Energy Commission (CEC) held a public meeting in Barstow, CA, as the lead agency for environmental review under the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA), and it intends to prepare a Staff Assessment analyzing the project impacts on these Mojave Desert public lands. This is the fourth company to buy the project and try to push it forward, ignoring previous controversies and vocal opposition.

The proposed 2,670-acre photovoltaic solar project with battery storage would be constructed on land managed by the Bureau of Land Management (BLM), which already undertook an environmental review under the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) more than 10 years ago. The BLM issued an approval and Record of Decision, but has not yet released a Notice to Proceed. 

So the federal review is complete, and now the State of California is undertaking another parallel review because of a new developer taking over the zombie project.

The project location is controversial because it lies next to the western boundary of Mojave National Preserve, a popular national park unit, and would have huge visual impacts. A population of desert bighorn sheep (Ovis canadensis nelsoni) uses the area as a migration corridor, and Mojave fringe-toed lizards (Uma scoparia) also inhabit the sandy creosote habitats on the site. A population of federally endangered and state endangered Mojave tui chub (Siphaletes bicolor mohavensis) inhabits a nearby articifial spring-fed lake at Zzyzx, which serves as a refuge population as the species' original habitat in the Mojave River has suffered degradation. 

Federally threatened Mojave desert tortoises (Gopherus agassizii) also inhabit these alluvial fans. 

A huge outcry resulted in the power purchaser--Los Angeles Department of Water and Power (LADWP)--ending its agreement to buy power from the project many years ago. The new developer is again seeking to interconnect the Soda Mountain Solar Project with LADWP's existing 500-kiloVolt Marketplace-Adelanto Transmission Line which runs to the north of the proposed solar project. Will the utility change its mind and agree this time? 

The work of protectors of nature is never fully finished.

From the CEC website: The project applicant, Soda Mountain Solar, LLC, submitted a revised application on Aug. 1, 2024, to the CEC’s Opt-In Certification program to construct and operate a combined solar photovoltaic (PV) and battery energy storage system (BESS). The project would:

• Generate up to 300 megawatts (MW) of renewable electricity via a utility-scale solar PV array.

• Incorporate up to 300 MW of battery energy storage capable of storing 1,200 megawatt-hours (MWh) of energy.

• Be sited on approximately 2,670 acres of land administered by the Bureau of Land Management in the California Desert District, within the Barstow Field Office jurisdiction.

• Include associated infrastructure, such as operation and maintenance buildings, stormwater controls, substation and switchyard for interconnection to the Marketplace-Adelanto 500-kilovolt transmission line, and battery storage facilities across an 18-acre pad.

A previous Environmental Impact Review under CEQA was undertaken but never certified by San Bernardino County.

The Soda Mountain Solar Project would obtain water from pumping five groundwater wells on the site, according to the proponent in their PowerPoint presentation at the meeting today. There would be an estimated 34 daily water truck trips during constuction. The acre-feet number was not mentioned.

Tesla Lithium battery storage buildings would be located on 18 acres within the project, "in order to compete with nuclear plants," said the developer. We note that solar project battery storage units only provide approximately four hours of (declining) energy generation after sunset. 

A berm would be built to divert stormwater on the alluvial fan from flooding the solar project. We have often seen these fail to halt floodwaters on solar projects in operation. 

During public comment, a representative of the San Bernardino County fire district had concerns about the potential for emergency response to the project given the small number of fire crews serving the region. The one fire station in the area is at Baker to the east, with four fire crew and 2 additional emergency medical response team mambers stationed there. They cover a huge area in the largest county in the U.S.--4,000 square miles. Response times are often delayed as the area is busy with a "moving city" of traffic along I-15 which has large numbers of transportation from Los Angeles to Las Vegas. Construction and hazardous materials are commonly transported on this freeway. 

He explained the issues with transporting large Battery Enegy Storage Systems (BESS) on highways: in July 2024 a battery unit hauled on an 18-wheeler truck on I-15 tipped over near Baker. This caused a two-day closure of the busy interstate for two days. People were trapped in the remote desert stretch of 15, and there were problems with heat exhaustion and vehicle fires. The economic loss becuase of the highway closure was enormous--estimates are that $2 million per hour were lost for two days. 

He told the Commissioners that he was only in informal email conversations with the solar developer, and that they would try to come up with a Lithium fire emergency plan if the solar project was apprpved.

"Our services will be impacted by this," he said of the Soda Mountain Solar Project.

The Rasor Off-Highway Vehicle Area managed by the BLM is a sand dune area next to Soda Mountain that has thousands of visitors and recreationists on weekends during the cool season. The Baker fire crew serves this area.

The next public commenter was Greg Bowman, General manager of the City of Baker, CA, up the interstate from the project area. He said that they were concerned by the groundwater wells or trucking of water from nearby sites. This was pushing it as far as a solar project in the area was concerned, in an arid region. 

"For the record, we oppose it."

A representative of the Off-highway vehicle group Friends of El Mirage gave a comment that he has sought protections for the Rasor OHV area for many years, including through the Desert Renewable Energy Conservation Plan (DRECP) process which was approved on public lands in the California Desert District by BLM in 2016. Again in 2019, he sought protections for the Rasor sand dunes recreational area in the Dingell Act.

He was happy that the solar developer wanted to enter into a community agreement to purcahse picnic tables and shade structures for recreational users, in exchange for their support of the solar project.

We photographed this herd of desert bighorn sheep at springs and rush meadows next to Zzzyx, at the base of the Soda Mountains.

Bighorn sheep biologist Clinton Epps from Oregon State University gave a public comment about his research into this bighorn population. He has been studying this syetm since 1999. Populations of desert bighorn are small, with probably not more than about 5,000 in California. Each mountain range in the desert has dozens to a few hundred bighorn at most. 

Survival in this harsh environment depends on the ability to move either seasonally or permanently between mountain ranges: to seek forage and water sources or to disperse. Genetic diversity is maintained between populations north of I-15 and those to the south. Soda Mountain was colonized from the Cady Mountains, and a new wildlife overpass crossing is planned over I-15 in order to mitigate the planned high speed train track which will block all connectivity along the freeway. I-15 has certain wash undercrossings that sheep sometimes may use, but a train track would completely block these. 

Epps is concerned that sheep would not have time to familiarize themselves with any new wildlife overcrossing if a vast solar project were constructed before the train corridor was built. Bighorn also occasionally use the desert flatlands to forage, where the solar project is proposed. This is all habitat.

Two representatives of National Parks and Conservation Association (NPCA) spoke that their organization opposed this solar project. This is the fourth owner, and it was extremnely disappointing to see the new owners think this is a good idea--"it is the worst site," said Neal Desai of NPCA. The climate future should not come at the expense of the Mojave National Preserve and wildlife. The impacts of solar projects have been clear for over a decade they said.

Comment Deadline September 3, 2025

The following slides are from the CEC presentation today.

For more information and background, visit the Basin and Range Watch archives >>here, and below.