Railroad company Burlington Northern Santa Fe Corp has joined an unlikely coalition of environmentalists, American Indians and politicians who are opposing a massive solar energy project planned for California's Mojave Desert.
The railroad is sounding the alarm over what it says are potentially "catastrophic" consequences of a proposed 663.5 megawatt solar facility that would be so bright that the glare could temporarily blind train operators.
cnxps.cmd.push(function () { cnxps({ playerId: '36af7c51-0caf-4741-9824-2c941fc6c17b' }).render('4c4d856e0e6f4e3d808bbc1715e132f6'); });
console.log("catid body is "+catID);if(catID==120){document.getElementsByClassName("divConnatix")[0].style.display ="none";var script = document.createElement('script'); script.src = 'https://player.anyclip.com/anyclip-widget/lre-widget/prod/v1/src/lre.js'; script.setAttribute('pubname','jpostcom'); script.setAttribute('widgetname','0011r00001lcD1i_12258'); document.getElementsByClassName('divAnyClip')[0].appendChild(script);}else if(catID!=69 && catID!=2){ document.getElementsByClassName("divConnatix")[0].style.display ="none"; var script = document.createElement('script'); script.src = 'https://static.vidazoo.com/basev/vwpt.js'; script.setAttribute('data-widget-id','60fd6becf6393400049e6535'); document.getElementsByClassName('divVidazoo')[0].appendChild(script); }The Calico Solar project is expected to include both SunCatchers, 40-foot-high solar thermal dishes made of mirrors that resemble giant satellite receivers, and photovoltaic panels on a 4,613-acre site along a rail transportation corridor used by BNSF and Amtrak.
BNSF has filed multiple complaints with California regulators over the project, which was approved by the state last year but is undergoing a new round of hearings to approve the inclusion of photovoltaic panels on the site.
