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Obama-era ‘clean energy’ solar power plant still uses fossil fuels – and kills thousands of birds annually
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This is part 2 of a series on California’s troubled Ivanpah Solar Power Plant in the Mojave Desert.
SAN BERNARDINO, Calif. – More than a decade after it opened, an Obama-era taxpayer-backed «clean energy» solar plant in California still burns fossil fuels and kills thousands of birds each year.
The Ivanpah Solar Power Plant, a massive facility in the Mojave Desert near the California-Nevada border, uses hundreds of thousands of mirrors to reflect sunlight into three towering structures, generating intense heat to produce electricity.
But those same beams have proven deadly.
A composite image shows a tower at the Ivanpah Solar Power Plant alongside a bird found with burn injuries linked to concentrated solar heat exposure, according to federal wildlife research. (Jeff Gritchen/MediaNews Group/Orange County Register via Getty Images; U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service)
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Federal researchers and monitoring reports have documented thousands of birds being killed after flying through the plant’s concentrated solar rays — a phenomenon known as «solar flux.»
The plant also relies on natural gas to start up each day – producing tens of thousands of metric tons of carbon dioxide annually – an amount comparable to the energy use of thousands of homes, raising questions about how «clean» the facility really is.
Standing near the site, its footprint is unmistakable. The towers glow intensely as beams of reflected sunlight converge at their tops, creating an almost surreal scene against the desert landscape.
Once promoted as a symbol of the future of renewable energy, Ivanpah is now drawing scrutiny over whether its environmental costs outweigh its benefits, with critics saying the project raises broader concerns about how «clean energy» is evaluated.
«If oil and gas spills a drop, literally a drop, the entire operation is shut down. And to an extent that’s a good thing,» Daniel Turner, founder of the energy advocacy group Power The Future, told Fox News Digital.
«But you label something ‘green’ or ‘clean’ and all regulations are waived.»
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An aerial view shows the Ivanpah Solar Power Plant near the California-Nevada border, where mirrors reflect sunlight onto towers to generate electricity. (Joe Sohm/Visions of America/Universal Images Group)
Despite the documented wildlife impacts, the plant continues to operate — with California regulators declining efforts to shut it down and instead arguing it is still needed to support the power grid. Officials under both the Trump and Biden administrations have supported shutting the facility down, citing the high cost of its electricity compared to newer alternatives.
The project was built with more than $1.6 billion in federally backed loans and additional taxpayer-funded incentives, leaving hundreds of millions of dollars still outstanding — even as environmental concerns continue to mount. In addition, the U.S. Department of the Treasury provided a $539 million grant to help build the facility, covering about 30% of construction costs.
Bird deaths and wildlife impacts
The facility spans more than 4,000 acres of the Mojave Desert and uses roughly 350,000 mirrors — mounted on more than 170,000 heliostats — to reflect sunlight toward three central towers.
That same concentrated light has had unintended consequences.
Researchers say insects are drawn to the bright towers, which in turn attract birds. Some then fly through the plant’s concentrated solar beams — known as solar flux — where they can be injured or killed.
Researchers dubbed the phenomenon «streamers,» with video released by the U.S. Geological Survey showing birds trailing smoke as their feathers burn.
A peregrine falcon wing shows severe feather damage consistent with exposure to concentrated solar heat, according to a U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service study of the Ivanpah solar plant. (U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service)
Burned feathers from a peregrine falcon show damage patterns linked to concentrated solar beams at the Ivanpah solar plant, according to federal research. (U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service)
A 2016 federal study by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service found evidence of birds suffering feather damage and trauma consistent with exposure to intense heat near the towers.
Monitoring reports filed with California regulators and reviewed by Fox News Digital continue to document bird and bat deaths at the site, with hundreds of birds found dead each year.
Environmental reviews conducted before construction anticipated some level of wildlife impact, including bird deaths linked to mirror collisions and concentrated solar beams, according to California Energy Commission documents.
«Bird mortality is still a significant concern at concentrated solar plants like Ivanpah,» Lewis Grove, director of wind and energy policy at the American Bird Conservancy, told Fox News Digital.
«Public estimates are that thousands of birds are killed every year by this single facility,» he said, adding that the trade-off is «generally not worth it for birds.»
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He noted that newer photovoltaic solar systems have significantly lower impacts on wildlife, underscoring how the industry has shifted away from the technology used at Ivanpah.
«The Ivanpah plant was a financial boondoggle and environmental disaster,» Julia Dowell of the Sierra Club said in a previous Fox News Digital report. She added the project «killed thousands of birds and tortoises» and showed that «not all renewable technologies are created equal.»
Habitat impact
Beyond bird deaths, the project has reshaped the surrounding desert.
The site was once considered a high-quality habitat, according to federal environmental reviews conducted before construction. Development cleared large areas of land, displacing tortoises and other wildlife and raised concerns about long-term survival.
Early monitoring reports showed dozens of protected desert tortoises went unaccounted for during initial operations — including animals held in controlled enclosures — according to California Energy Commission documents reviewed by Fox News Digital.
Critics have also questioned whether efforts to relocate tortoises away from the site have been effective.
Burning fossil fuels
The plant’s environmental footprint extends beyond wildlife.
Ivanpah relies on natural gas to start up operations each day — a requirement that has raised questions about how «clean» the facility really is.
While the original design assumed limited gas use, actual operations often require several hours of gas-burning to bring the system online. The plant also lacks large-scale energy storage, meaning it cannot generate electricity at night — a limitation newer solar projects increasingly address.
A bird feather shows curling and charring linked to concentrated solar heat exposure at the Ivanpah facility, according to a federal wildlife study. (U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service)
Project documents show the facility was originally approved to use significantly less natural gas than it ultimately required, with operators later seeking approval to increase usage by roughly 60% to maintain reliable operations, according to California Energy Commission filings reviewed by Fox News Digital.
The plant has burned natural gas to support daily startup and operations, producing roughly 25,000 to 30,000 metric tons of carbon dioxide annually — roughly equivalent to the emissions from several thousand U.S. homes.
That level of emissions is enough to place the plant under California’s cap-and-trade program, which requires major polluters to pay for their emissions — effectively placing the «solar» facility alongside traditional fossil fuel plants when it comes to emissions.
While Ivanpah produces fewer emissions than a conventional natural gas plant, its carbon footprint remains significantly higher than that of modern solar farms, which generate electricity without burning fossil fuels.
NRG Energy, which operates the facility, said in a previous statement that it remains committed to providing renewable electricity but declined to provide additional comment regarding environmental issues.
The California Energy Commission told Fox News Digital the project remains in compliance with its environmental requirements, with wildlife impacts addressed through ongoing monitoring and coordination with federal and state agencies.
The Ivanpah Solar Power Plant in California’s Mojave Desert uses mirrors to focus sunlight onto three towers to generate electricity. (Jeff Gritchen/MediaNews Group/Orange County Register/Getty Images)
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More than a decade after it opened, Ivanpah now stands as a symbol of the trade-offs in the push for clean energy — where efforts to reduce emissions can also bring real-world environmental costs.
For now, the plant continues to operate because regulators say the power it provides is still needed — even as questions remain about its cost, environmental impact and whether it still makes sense to keep it running.
Those questions extend beyond the plant itself, raising broader concerns about how projects like Ivanpah were approved — an issue Fox News Digital will examine in the next part of this series.
energy, nevada, carbon emissions, california, birds, green economy, barack obama
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Top energy group warns wealthy foreigners are potentially bankrolling anti-data center campaigns across US
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Power the Future, a pro-energy advocacy group, is asking Congress to take a closer look at opposition to data centers springing up across the country.
In a letter to Rep. James Comer, R-Ky., and Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., the group asked lawmakers to open formal investigations into millions of dollars in funding they believe is incentivizing nonprofits and local groups to take up an environmental stance against data centers.
In their view, it’s a movement that’s trying to look more grassroots than it actually is.
«We request that your committees open a formal investigation into a coordinated, billionaire-funded, and potentially foreign-backed political campaign designed to block the construction of data center and AI infrastructure across the United States, which sits among the most important economic and national-security buildouts of President Trump’s second term,» the letter reads.
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House Oversight Committee Chairman James Comer, R-Ky., speaks to reporters after a closed-door deposition with Ghislaine Maxwell at the Capitol in Washington, D.C., on Feb. 9, 2026. (J. Scott Applewhite/AP)
The letter highlights fears that American laws surrounding nonprofits, which shield donors from public disclosures, could be enabling wealthy ideologues to make donations that are difficult to track.
The group pointed to environmentally-minded nonprofits like the Sierra Club, Food and Water Watch, Earthjustice, Goods Jobs First, Piedmont Environmental Council, the Southern Environmental Law Center, MediaJustice and the Athena Coalition that have received — and spent millions — opposing their expansion.
New Venture Fund, the Sierra Club Foundation and the Sixteen Thirty Fund collectively received over $13 million from pro-environmental donors, according to grant reporting.
It’s unclear if those donations were made for the express intent of opposing data center constructions.
Even so, across the board, the groups affirm that data centers are costing more resources than they are worth at the expense of local communities’ environmental well-being.
Power the Future disagrees.
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The Douglas County Google Data Center in Lithia Springs, Ga., March 6, 2026. (Mike Stewart/AP)
Beyond generating tax revenue for communities and creating employment opportunities, Power the Future argued that the data centers enable the U.S. to stay competitive with foreign powers.
«Interior Secretary Doug Burgum has called opposition to that buildout a ‘surrender’ to China,» Power the Future wrote in its data center report.
«The compute infrastructure that trains AI models, processes intelligence data and powers the next generation of American economic and military advantage has to be built somewhere.»
Although the group’s founder, Daniel Turner, believes that part of the opposition may well come from legitimate local concerns about unwanted development in rural areas, he’s skeptical of the money being pumped into the picture.
‘BAD IDEA’: CONSERVATIVES WARN RED STATE DATA CENTER BILL WILL DERAIL TRUMP’S VISION OF ENERGY ‘GOLDEN AGE’
Racks of servers with colorful wires at a data center as AI expansion strains the power grid, prompting a proposal for tech firms to fund their own energy needs. (Sameer Al-Doumy/AFP via Getty Images)
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«There is certainly a lot for communities to discuss around data centers. But is it a paid operation by radical green groups who see banning data centers as the new banning the gas stove or banning the leaf blower?» Turner said in a statement to Fox News Digital.
Power the Future has found 188 local opposition groups across 24 states that oppose data center expansion, according to its research.
infrastructure across america, controversies environment, congress, lobbying, energy in america
INTERNACIONAL
La guerra contra Irán: Donald Trump dijo que Estados Unidos va a “liberar” desde este lunes barcos que están atascados en el estrecho de Ormuz
El presidente Donald Trump dijo este domingo que Estados Unidos va a “liberar” barcos que están atascados en el Estrecho de Ormuz a partir del lunes, lo que sugiere que su gobierno romperá al menos temporalmente el bloqueo en esta vía estratégica por donde circula el 20% del petróleo del mundo.
Trump dijo que la iniciativa es «un gesto humanitario» y advierte a Irán de no interferir en la operación.
En un posteo en la red Truth Social, Trump publicó este domingo: “Países de todo el mundo, casi todos no involucrados en la actual violenta disputa en Oriente Medio…han pedido a Estados Unidos que ayudemos a liberar sus barcos, que están encerrados en el Estrecho de Ormuz, por algo con lo que no tienen absolutamente nada que ver. ¡Son meros espectadores neutrales e inocentes!»,
«Por el bien de Irán, Oriente Medio y Estados Unidos, hemos dicho a estos países que guiaremos sus barcos con seguridad fuera de estas vías restringidas, para que puedan continuar con sus asuntos con libre y eficacia. De nuevo, estos son barcos de zonas del mundo que no tienen ninguna relación con lo que actualmente ocurre en Oriente Medio”.
“He dicho a mis representantes que les informen de que haremos todo lo posible para sacar a sus barcos y tripulaciones del estrecho con seguridad. En todos los casos, dijeron que no volverán hasta que la zona sea segura para la navegación y todo lo demás”.
“Este proceso, Proyecto Libertad, comenzará el lunes por la mañana, hora de Oriente Medio. Soy plenamente consciente de que mis representantes están manteniendo discusiones muy positivas con el país de Irán, y que estas discusiones podrían conducir a algo muy positivo para todos”, explicó.
“El movimiento de los barcos solo pretende liberar a personas, empresas y países que no han hecho absolutamente nada malo — son víctimas de las circunstancias. Este es un gesto humanitario en nombre de Estados Unidos, los países de Oriente Medio pero, en particular, el país de Irán”, agregó.
Trump dijo que la iniciativa era un gesto humanitario: “Muchos de estos barcos están quedándose sin comida y con todo lo necesario para que las tripulaciones a gran escala puedan mantenerse a bordo de forma sana y sanitaria. Creo que eso ayudaría mucho a mostrar buena voluntad en nombre de todos aquellos que han estado luchando tan intensamente durante los últimos meses. Si, de alguna manera, se interfiere este proceso humanitario, esa interferencia tendrá que ser tratada con contundencia”.
Según la Organización Marítima Internacional, más de 20.000 marineros están varados en unos 2.000 petroleros y cargueros que no pueden salir por el estrecho. Los países de la región han cerrado una producción significativa de petróleo porque ya no hay ningún lugar donde almacenar nuevos suministros.
Después de que Irán cerrara efectivamente el estrecho, Estados Unidos impuso un bloqueo naval a los puertos de la República Islámica, buscando presionar su economía y bloquear las exportaciones de petróleo.
Esto ha generado preocupaciones en la Casa Blanca de que los republicanos puedan sufrir una derrota contundente en las elecciones legislativas de mitad de mandato de noviembre, mientras los estadounidenses lidian con los altos precios del combustible, que se han disparado en los surtidores hasta un 40%
Las más recientes encuestas confirman el pesimismo de los estadounidenses respecto de la gestión de Trump, sobre todo en su manejo de la guerra y la inflación.
Una encuesta de The Washington Post/ABC/Ipsos de este domingo señaló que la aprobación de Trump en temas económicos, que fue fundamental para su regreso a la Casa Blanca en 2024, cayó desde que inició la guerra de Irán a finales de febrero.
Un 66 por ciento de los ciudadanos desaprueba su gestión de la guerra con Irán, frente a un 33% que la avala. Su valoración económica ha bajado siete puntos, hasta el 34 por ciento, debido sobre todo al aumento de los combustibles. Su índice de aprobación sobre el manejo de la inflación ha caído cinco puntos desde el inicio de la guerra en febrero, hasta el 27 por ciento, y su puntuación más baja se debe a la percepción de su gestión del costo de vida general, con un 23 por ciento que lo aprueba frente a un 76 por ciento que lo rechaza.
La aprobación global de Trump se sitúa ahora en el 37 por ciento, en gran medida igual que el 39 por ciento de febrero. Pero su desaprobación ha alcanzado el 62 por ciento, la cifra más alta de sus dos mandatos.
La encuesta muestra también que, si bien la imagen de Trump se mantiene firme entre sus seguidores más fieles, el electorado más moderado e independiente (clave para ganar una elección en EE.UU.) se aleja del jefe de la Casa Blanca.
Entre los republicanos, la aprobación de Trump se ha mantenido estable en el 85 por ciento, pero su índice de valoración entre los independientes con tendencia republicana ha alcanzado un nuevo mínimo del 56 por ciento. Su índice de aprobación es del 25 por ciento entre los independientes en general.
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Somali pirate and Houthi alliance targets $1T oil trade route with revived hijack tactic
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A surge in Somali piracy is fueling fears of a Red Sea «security vacuum» across the region as analysts warn of a revived maritime crime playbook, now linked to Iran-backed Houthis.
The warning follows a May 2 report from Yemen’s coast guard that armed men hijacked an oil tanker off Shabwa and steered it toward the Gulf of Aden, and the vessel has since been located with recovery efforts underway, Reuters reported.
«There is a fundamental shift in the maritime center of gravity amid a new phase of maritime instability in the region,» Ido Shalev, chief operating officer at RTCOM Defense, told Fox News Digital.
«Somali and Houthi-linked groups are teaming up — using skiffs and new tech to strike ships with coordination not seen in a decade — while Saudi crude rerouted from the Strait of Hormuz has created a ‘target-rich environment for them,’» he added.
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Members of the Puntland Maritime Police Force (PMPF) sit on a speed boat as they patrol the Gulf of Aden waters off the coast of Bosaso in the semi-autonomous region of Puntland, Somalia. (Abdirahman Hussein/Reuters)
«There is an opportunistic alignment, with the Houthis providing geopolitical cover and advanced GPS and surveillance, and Somali groups providing the boots on the ground or skiffs on the water,» Shalev said.
With the MT Eureka taken off Shabwa, Shalev, a former Israeli naval officer, suggested what he called the «Somali model» had returned «with a vengeance.»
«This is a transactional collaboration, and in the exact area where the Houthis are active and would like to cause damage and support their IRGC sponsor,» he said before describing how pirates would hijack the entire ship and cargo, taking them to a secure anchorage «like Qandala or Garacad.»
«They then demand a ransom for the entire package: the vessel, the tens of millions of dollars in oil, and the crew,» he said.
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Somali and Houthi-linked groups are teaming up using skiffs and new tech to strike ships with coordination not seen in a decade. (Jason R. Zalasky/U.S. Navy via Getty Images)
The surge in regional risk is also exacerbated, Shalev said, by the volatility of the Strait of Hormuz. As Iranian-backed threats persist in the Persian Gulf, global energy flows are shifting.
«Due to the closure and instability of the Strait of Hormuz, Saudi Arabia has diverted millions of barrels of crude per day through its East-West pipeline to the Red Sea port of Yanbu,» the former Israeli naval officer said.
«This creates a target-rich environment in a sector that was previously a backbound route. With Brent Crude prices surging — peaking near $115/bbl this quarter — the prize for a successful hijacking has never been higher.»
The risk level in waters off Somalia was recently upgraded to «substantial» following a wave of hijackings and attempted attacks that began April 21, according to Windward AI and alerts from the U.K. Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO).
At least three vessels were hijacked within days: a Somali-flagged fishing boat on April 21, followed by the Palau-flagged tanker Honour 25 (IMO 1099735), and, by April 26, a general cargo ship seized and redirected to Garacad.
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The surge in regional piracy risk is exacerbated by the volatility of the Strait of Hormuz as Iranian-backed threats persist in the Persian Gulf and global energy flows are shifting. (Mass Communications Specialist 1st Class Cassandra Thompson/U.S. Navy via Getty Images)
Shalev, who served as the lead architect for Nigeria’s «Falcon Eye» project — a surveillance system that successfully reduced piracy in those waters to 0% — warned that the distraction of global warships is being exploited.
«Because international naval forces are preoccupied with missile threats, a ‘security vacuum’ has now opened in the region, so pirates can travel vast distances in skiffs to board vulnerable commercial vessels,» he said.
«Somali piracy, which had been suppressed for years, has seen this sharp resurgence that also correlates perfectly with the Houthi crisis in the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden,» Shalev said.
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The Red Sea carries 12% to 15% of global trade and about 30% of container traffic, moving over $1 trillion in goods annually, including oil and LNG, according to reports.
«The current crisis proves that you cannot ‘patrol’ your way out of this; you have to see the threat before it ever reaches the ship,» Shalev said.
somali immigrant community, middle east, coast guard, saudi arabia, iran
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