Telepeer

State poised to OK controversial Soda Mountain Solar Project near Baker

April 8, 2026

Staff officials are moving forward with long-dormant plans for the 2,600-acre Soda Mountain Solar Project near Baker despite opposition from environmental groups warning of severe impacts to desert bighorn sheep and sensitive desert ecosystems.

The California Energy Commission is scheduled to vote April 27 on a staff recommendation to approve the 300-megawatt electrical generating and battery storage facility, which would generate renewable electricity to the statewide electricity transmission grid.

The state is advancing the proposal under a fast-track process that shifts authority on such projects from local officials to the state so it can pursue its clean energy goals. A 2025 law enabled developers to revive stalled desert projects even when local officials object.

The San Bernardino County Board of Supervisors went on record in 2016 opposing the project, six miles southwest of Baker, over environmental concerns.

In December, the state released its environmental impact report on a modified project plan that would create a quarter-mile buffer zone to protect desert bighorn sheep habitat near the Mojave National Preserve and allow them more movement and grazing area. The plan also included a reconfiguration of its battery storage system, setting it 500 feet away from the 15 Freeway for public safety in the event of a fire.

A public comment period from late December through Feb. 27 allowed people to weigh in before the plan goes to the commission for a vote.

If built by Soda Mountain Solar, LLC, the solar plant would operate year-round and deliver electricity to the state power grid, contributing toward the state’s greenhouse gas reduction goals for 2030 and beyond.

However, the project would still need to be given the green light by the U.S. Bureau of Land Management should it get clearance by the California Energy Commission.

The BLM’s Barstow field office received the project application in January, and spokesperson Philip Oviatt said it is now under review. “The field office is working with the applicant to ensure that all components of the application are complete and in accordance with federal regulations and guidelines,” he said.

Wildlife experts and environmentalists contend that the project, despite the state’s and project applicant’s best efforts, will severely impact the migratory patterns of desert bighorn sheep and do irreversible damage to plant and wildlife habitats. The state, however, disputes that, and believes its mitigation measures will work.

“This alternative would still cause significant, unavoidable impacts to visual resources but would, with mitigation incorporated into the project, no longer cause significant impacts to biological resources, particularly related to bighorn sheep,” CEC Executive Director Drew Bohan said in a March 27 letter addressed to the commissioners.

But project opponents say that doesn’t go far enough, and wildlife experts contend the bighorn sheep buffer zone should be more than twice the size than what the state has proposed, said Neal Desai, senior Pacific regional director for the National Parks Conservation Association.

A view of the Soda Mountains near the Mojave National Preserve, in the vicinity of where a 2,670-acre solar power plant is being proposed to be built. (Photo courtesy of Michael Gordon)

“The Commission can approve a project and implement protections that the nation’s leading bighorn sheep scientists are saying are necessary. Instead, it appears very content with embracing recklessness and abandoning common sense and science, along with the belief that our national parks are worthy of protection,” Desai said.

During the 60-day public comment period, it appeared the applicant’s alternative plan to mollify critics didn’t sway them at all.

Judith Decker, board president of the Eastern Kern County Resource Conservation District, said in a Feb. 9 letter to the commission that the project would still adversely affect desert bighorn sheep and other wildlife species, including Mojave fringe-toed lizards, desert tortoises and burrowing owls. She said it also would pose risks to desert water resources due to groundwater extraction and altered surface hydrology.

Baker Community Services District General Manager Greg Bowman said in a letter dated Feb. 19 that the project “undermines our county’s interests, harms communities, jeopardizes a national park unit and contradicts our county’s renewable energy ordinance.”

Lynn Valbuena, chair of the San Manuel Band of Mission Indians, urged delaying the project until Caltrans completes three nearby wildlife crossings, allowing further study of their effectiveness for bighorn sheep before any large-scale development proceeds.

“As stewards of our 7.4-million-acre ancestral territory spanning Los Angeles, Riverside, Kern and San Bernardino Counties, we carry a sacred responsibility to protect and preserve our cultural resources, the environment and the landscapes entrusted to us,” Valbuena said.

State poised to OK controversial Soda Mountain Solar Project near Baker Orange County Register

News Details

State poised to OK controversial Soda Mountain Solar Project near Baker

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

News

CONTACT INFO

QUICK LINKS

SERVICES

CURRENT NEWS