BLM asks public for comments on new Gemini Solar Project

[cyndi]

" The Bureau of Land Management is seeking the public’s comment on a proposed renewable energy project located northeast of Las Vegas..."


https://news3lv.com/news/local/blm-...y0WddR-upPao_agV1Wzr_5_uUxd2FvRWzbc1VfnQKy8uA

 

[wayne49]

Clicked on BLM's (Bureau of Land Management) release:
https://www.blm.gov/press-release/blm-seeks-comments-gemini-solar-project-near-las-vegas

"The proposed project area includes 7,115 acres of public land 25 miles northeast of Las Vegas, Nevada, and extends approximately six miles north to south and four miles east to west, located adjacent and south/southeast of Interstate 15."

Looks like North of I-15 exit 64, I estimate S-N from mile marker 68 to 74. Close to the road to Valley of Fire SP (State Park) exit 75.

 

[Pleasant Travels]

In my experience, these public comment periods are never actually considered and are just political cover. By the time such a period is offerred, the decision has been made.

 

[bullfrog]

Unfortunately these are seldom changed unless large protest groups form based around a political figure or local leader with a better money making plan.

 

[cyndi]

I agree. Making a public comment will probably do little to change the end result. Still, I'll make that comment because I am not a sheeple who has been led into apathy

 

[Wabbit]

...I am not a sheeple who has been led into apathy...

I understand the sentiment, I think some may have been forced into an apathetic mindset. Apathy can be used a coping method so they don't lose their mind. Not a great coping method, but if it keeps you in the fight, maybe they get a chance to recover their mental balance(or whatever being human is). I don't like apathy either, but I don't know why a person is apathetic. It doesn't always mean they are selfish to the core. That make sense?

 

[Spaceman Spiff]

The implication is that people here object to this use.  What are those objections to the site or use?

Here is the map from the BLM release (I assume the major road is I15):

 

[cyndi]

^^
I don't know where that all came from. Certainly not from what I posted

^
Nor did I imply anything except that we have been given an opportunity to voice an opinion

 

[Wabbit]

/\ The term "sheeple". There's tons of worse names I know, just trying to shed light on maybe a different take.

 

[Headache]

Clicked on BLM's (Bureau of Land Management) release:
https://www.blm.gov/press-release/blm-seeks-comments-gemini-solar-project-near-las-vegas

On it was this:

A Notice of Intent to Prepare an Environmental Impact Statement and Land Use Plan Amendment, and a Notice of Segregation for the Proposed Gemini Solar Project in Clark County, Nevada was published in the July 13, 2018, Federal Register, opening a 45-day public comment period which closes on August 27, 2018.

But the one posted on the news site was;

The public comment period will last 90 days, and BLM will also host a series of meetings open to the public, which will be announced at least 15 days in advance.

There was no date of when that 90 day period would begin.

 

[Spaceman Spiff]

My question is why on Public Land, and not on private land? . . .

'Cuz the feds own 80% of Nevada.  There isn't much private land available.  I haven't looked into the project but they will pay rent.

The project meets two goals of he federal government: energy independence and clean energy.  So why shouldn't the government use its land to meet its goals?

 

[highdesertranger]

I am not going to start an argument but for several reasons I am against them taking all this land too. I am just going t leave it there. highdesertranger

 

[RoamerRV428]

we all hate it cause land was 'set aside' for citizen's use only etc....but then it is used for many reasons that are not 'free for all' of us in any way......illusion. they are gonna do what they want when they want and we all sit back and take it cause it was never set up as 'totally public land' in the fine print of it all

it is cool
again, what goes down will go down. nothing we can do truly in the long run of it all. best one can do is accept it.

 

[Spaceman Spiff]

we all hate it cause land was 'set aside' for citizen's use only etc....

From BLM's mission statement:

[font=Roboto, sans-serif]"Congress tasked the BLM with a mandate of managing public lands for a variety of uses such as energy development, livestock grazing, recreation, and timber harvesting while ensuring natural, cultural, and historic resources are maintained for present and future use."[/font]

https://www.blm.gov/about/our-mission

 

[lenny flank]

I have always been a big fan of "distributed generation", in which each individual building uses things like solar panels or wind turbines to produce as much of its power as possible at the source. Big central production facilities, whether they be nuclear power plants, solar farms or wind farms, just lead to monopolization and centralization--and they also lose efficiency through transmission losses.

 

[Spaceman Spiff]

^^
I agree.  But that doesn't leave much room for graft or control.

 

[highdesertranger]

exactly and that is one of the big reasons I am against these land grabs. it's not the only reason but it is a big one. highdesertranger

 

[owl]

This reminds me of the resistance to dam building in the past. Dams had a major impact. Much greater than what a project like this would.

 

[cyndi]

Another story
"Green Groups Silent as Solar Company Plans Destruction of Mojave Wildlands
June 10, 2019

The Department of Interior in early June released its draft environmental review indicating that plans to replace 11 square miles of intact desert wildlands in southern Nevada with the Gemini Solar project would result in significant impacts on wildlife and outdoor recreation..."
http://www.mojavedesertblog.com/2019/06/green-groups-silent-as-solar-company.html

 

[highdesertranger]

while I have been jaded by most environmental groups, I find nothing to disagree with the above article. highdesertranger