SAN BERNARDINO, Calif. – Regulators are allowing an Obama-era «clean energy» solar plant to continue operating even as its reflected solar beams kill thousands of birds each year, with no fines or enforcement action taken since it opened, a Fox News Digital investigation has found.

The Ivanpah Solar Power Plant, a sprawling facility built with taxpayer support in the Mojave Desert near the California–Nevada border, remains in compliance under existing regulations, even as birds are burned, injured or killed after flying through the beams which reflect sunlight onto the plant’s three central towers.

Regulators were aware of those risks before approving the project as part of a broader push to expand renewable energy. Today, it remains in compliance, meaning the wildlife deaths documented at the site fall within limits set under its environmental approvals. That framework allows the plant to continue operating even as thousands of birds are killed each year.

OBAMA-ERA ‘CLEAN ENERGY’ SOLAR POWER PLANT STILL USES FOSSIL FUELS – AND KILLS THOUSANDS OF BIRDS ANNUALLY

«Staff is not aware of any formal enforcement actions or fines issued by either the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service or the California Department of Fish and Wildlife related to avian or wildlife mortality at the Ivanpah Solar Electric Generating System,» the California Energy Commission, which oversees large energy projects in the state, told Fox News Digital.

The commission also said it knows of no special regulatory exemptions for renewable energy projects related to wildlife impacts. Instead, the project was approved as long as monitoring and mitigation requirements would be carried out, meaning some level of wildlife mortality was anticipated.

The futuristic-looking facility, known for its three large towers that glow brightly when powered on, was approved during the Obama-era push to rapidly expand renewable energy following the 2008 financial crisis — part of a broader effort to cut emissions and reduce reliance on fossil fuels in the name of climate change.

At the time, it was hailed as the future of «clean energy» technology, and the federal government provided a $539 million grant for its construction, along with a separate $1.6 billion loan.

But its technology quickly became outdated by conventional solar panels that absorb sunlight directly and convert it into electricity, making Ivanpah’s energy more expensive to produce. The plant also relies on natural gas to start up each day – producing tens of thousands of metric tons of carbon dioxide annually.

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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)

Researchers say birds are drawn to the bright towers, 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,» and a video released by the U.S. Geological Survey shows a bird trailing smoke as its feathers burn. Songbirds, doves, warblers and other migratory species have been found dead at the plant.

What regulators knew before approval

Environmental reviews examined by Fox News Digital show that regulators were aware before construction that the project could kill birds, either by being burned by the plant’s concentrated sunlight or colliding with the tens of thousands of mirrors that surround the three towers like lakes. They also raised concerns about damage to the 4,000-acre physical desert habitat it was going to occupy, as well as to protected species that roam the barren terrain, such as the endangered desert tortoise, dozens of which went unaccounted for during early operations.

The project’s Final Environmental Impact Statement warned that climate efforts could come «at the expense of reducing the native biodiversity.»

Even with those warnings, regulators approved the project, allowing it to move forward on the basis that ongoing monitoring and mitigation requirements would be carried out, rather than requiring those risks to be resolved.

A 2016 congressional review raised similar concerns, finding no clear evidence that federal agencies had pursued penalties for bird deaths at Ivanpah — a pattern that appears to have continued.

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)

No fines, no enforcement

The plant is regulated under a system that tracks wildlife deaths but does not automatically trigger fines or shutdowns.

Monitoring reports show hundreds of birds are found dead at the site each year, with some estimates putting the total in the thousands.

Responsibility for enforcement is shared across multiple agencies, including the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, the California Department of Fish and Wildlife and the Bureau of Land Management, each of which has authority over different aspects of the project, the CEC said.

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service said it reviews monitoring data and provides technical input but did not indicate enforcement action tied to bird deaths at the site.

NRG Energy, which operates the facility, said in a previous statement it remains committed to providing renewable electricity but declined to provide additional comment regarding environmental issues.

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The Ivanpah Solar Power Facility operates in the Mojave Desert near the California–Nevada border, using thousands of mirrors to focus sunlight onto a central tower to generate electricity. (MediaNews Group/Orange County Register via Getty Images)

A system that allows harm

Instead of being treated like a typical environmental violation, the project is governed through a permitting system that emphasizes monitoring and mitigation rather than penalties.

In practice, that means harm can be documented without triggering enforcement action even though federal authorities have pursued penalties for bird deaths in other industries.

Under federal law, violations involving protected migratory birds can carry fines of up to $15,000 per bird.

Such prosecutions of industry have become rare in the United States, however. In 2017, the Department of the Interior reinterpreted the Migratory Bird Treaty Act to apply only to intentional killings — not «incidental» deaths caused by industrial activity such as oil pits, power lines or wind turbines. Federal courts, including the Fifth Circuit, have since reinforced that narrower reading, limiting the government’s ability to penalize companies for equipment-related bird deaths.

But even efforts to reduce harm — including deterrents, lighting changes and operational adjustments — have not eliminated the problem at Ivanpah, with monitoring reports continuing to document annual wildlife deaths.

More than a decade later, Ivanpah shows what that system looks like in practice: a project approved as clean energy that kills wildlife, relies on fossil fuels and continues operating without penalties.

WATCH: Experts weigh in on future of $2.2B Obama-era Ivanpah solar plant as regulators keep it open

This is part 3 of a series on California’s troubled Ivanpah Solar Power Plant in the Mojave Desert

Part 1 – Obama-backed $2.2B green energy ‘boondoggle’ leaves taxpayers on the hook

Part 2 – Obama-era ‘clean energy’ solar power plant still uses fossil fuels – and kills thousands of birds annually

La historia de Kevin González, un joven de 18 años nacido en Chicago y diagnosticado con cáncer de colon en etapa 4, conmovió a ambos lados de la frontera. Su único deseo era poder abrazar a sus padres, Norma e Isidoro González, antes de morir. Pero ellos estaban detenidos bajo custodia migratoria en Arizona, lejos de su hijo, que ahora se encuentra en México.

Este jueves, un juez migratorio de Estados Unidos ordenó la liberación y deportación expedita de los padres de Kevin, quienes permanecían detenidos desde el 14 de abril en el Centro Correccional de Florence, Arizona.

Un viaje marcado por la urgencia y el dolor

Kevin está en la casa de su abuela Victoria, en Durango, donde pasa sus últimos días acompañado por familiares y amigos. Su salud se deterioró rápidamente: el cáncer se extendió al estómago y los pulmones, y ya no recibe tratamiento médico, solo los cuidados básicos de su abuela.

“Al dolor físico se suma la angustia emocional por la ausencia de sus padres y la impotencia de no estar con ellos”, contó Victoria a medios locales. La historia de Kevin comenzó en la Navidad pasada, cuando se sintió mal y recibió el diagnóstico devastador de cáncer avanzado.

Al enterarse de que le quedaba poco tiempo, Kevin viajó desde Chicago a México para despedirse de sus padres. Pero al llegar, descubrió que ellos ya no estaban en Durango: habían sido detenidos intentando cruzar la frontera de manera ilegal, en un acto desesperado por reencontrarse con su hijo.

Un drama familiar y una lucha contra el sistema

Norma e Isidoro González habían sido deportados en 2011 y, por ese antecedente, no lograron obtener visas humanitarias ni de turista para ingresar a Estados Unidos. La familia presentó documentos médicos del Hospital de la Universidad de Chicago y el diagnóstico terminal de Kevin, pero ninguna solicitud prosperó ante las autoridades estadounidenses.

La noticia fue confirmada por la cónsul general de México en Chicago, Reyna Torres Mendívil, quien detalló que Norma e Isidoro ya se encuentran en el cruce de Nogales, frontera con México, y pronto estarán en camino a Durango.

La decisión judicial y el derecho a una despedida

La cónsul Torres Mendívil explicó que el consulado de Chicago trabajó junto al de Tucson para coordinar la defensa legal de los padres y facilitar su repatriación. El cónsul Fernando Sánchez, desde Tucson, detalló que Norma e Isidoro enfrentaban cargos por “reingreso indocumentado”, pero finalmente el magistrado optó por la repatriación expedita.

El juez consideró que mantener a los padres detenidos ya no respondía a un interés de seguridad pública y que, en cambio, se estaba afectando el derecho de un ciudadano estadounidense a despedirse de su familia antes de morir.

«Quiero ver a mis padres aunque sea por última vez“, dijo Kevin en una entrevista televisiva. Ahora, tras una larga espera y una lucha marcada por el dolor, ese último deseo está a punto de cumplirse.

El único contacto que Kevin tuvo con su madre fue a través de una videollamada desde el centro de detención. La situación generó un fuerte reclamo social y político: la congresista por Arizona, Adelita Grijalva, pidió públicamente la liberación inmediata de los padres, calificando el caso como un tema de “decencia humana”.

La historia de Kevin González conmovió a miles en las redes sociales. El joven, de apenas 18 años y oriundo de Chicago, enfrenta un diagnóstico devastador: cáncer de colon en etapa cuatro. Su mayor deseo es simple y profundo: volver a abrazar a sus padres, Norma Anabel Ramírez Amaya e Isidoro González Avilés, quienes dejaron todo en Durango para intentar estar a su lado.

Un viaje desesperado y una familia separada

La familia vivió semanas de angustia. Los padres de Kevin pidieron una visa humanitaria al gobierno de Estados Unidos, pero la respuesta fue negativa. Desesperados, en abril decidieron cruzar la frontera de manera irregular, arriesgando todo por el sueño de reencontrarse con su hijo.

“Desde abril estamos esperando esto y, apenas ayer, un juez se conmovió con la historia de mi niño y ordenó su liberación”, contó la abuela de Kevin, Virginia, al diario Milenio.

“Llorábamos de tristeza, ahora lloramos de alegría”, dijo también al canal Univisión.

Ahora, el joven se encuentra en la casa de su abuela, esperando ansioso el momento de volver a ver a sus padres. “Desde el jueves al saber la noticia, Kevin no durmió en toda la noche. Estuvo preguntando por sus papás, ya está ansioso por verlos”, expresó Virginia.

Según declaró su abuela al diario El Sol de Durango, el joven mejoró con la noticia de la liberación de sus papás. “Se le nota una mejoría en su cara desde que supo que ya venía su mamá, ya hasta platicó un poquito más”, compartió emocionada.

Virginia también agradeció el apoyo que recibieron. “Nunca imaginamos tanta solidaridad”, dijo.

La familia González, marcada por la lucha y el amor, espera que el reencuentro se concrete en las próximas horas. El deseo de Kevin es claro: abrazar a sus padres y compartir con ellos el tiempo que le queda.

Nuclear weapons experts are raising the alarm bells over the pressing need for the Trump administration to codify in any new deal a ban on Iran’s attempts to use plutonium from its facilities to build an atomic bomb.

The administration and non-proliferation experts have largely focused on the Islamic Republic’s atomic weapons facilities that use uranium as the material for building nuclear bombs. Tehran could take advantage of this blind spot and covertly build a plutonium-based nuclear weapon.

Jason Brodsky, policy director at United Against Nuclear Iran (UANI), told Fox News Digital: «I do believe any proposed deal with Iran needs to address the plutonium pathway to nuclear weapons. Israel struck the Arak heavy water reactor twice over the last year — in June 2025 and in March 2026. Intelligence suggested Iran had repeatedly attempted to reconstruct the facility even after the bombing, so any deal with Iran should cover the plutonium pathway.»

TRUMP BLOCKADE SQUEEZING IRAN SO HARD REGIME MAY BE DUMPING OIL INTO GULF, EXPERTS SAY

Iran’s regime could use plutonium from spent fuel at its nuclear reactor at Bushehr to build an atomic weapons device, according to Henry Sokolski, the executive director of the Nonproliferation Policy Education Center and former deputy for nonproliferation policy in the Department of Defense (1989–1993).

Writing last month on the website of Real Clear Defense, he noted «Washington should make sure that Iran doesn’t remove Bushehr’s spent fuel and strip out the plutonium. This can and should be done without bombing the plant.»

Sokolski wrote the «Pentagon should watch to make sure Iran does not remove any of the spent fuel at Bushehr. It could do this with space surveillance assets or, as it did in 2012, with drones. Second, any ‘peace’ deal President Trump cuts with Tehran should include a requirement that there be near-real-time monitoring of the Bushehr reactor and spent fuel pond, much as the IAEA had in place with Iran’s fuel enrichment activities.»

A satellite image the Heavy water plant of Arak, Iran is displayed. According to reports, the existence of this plant came to light in December 2002. Heavy water moderates nuclear fission chain reaction and can produce plutonium for use in a nuclear bomb.  (DigitalGlobe via Getty Images)

In another article in the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists in April, Sokolski argued that Iran has enough plutonium for more than 200 nuclear bombs. He said, «The last time IAEA inspectors visited Bushehr was August 27, 2025. Even when agency inspectors had routine access to the plant, they only visited every 90 days —  more than enough time to divert the spent fuel and possibly fashion it into nuclear weapons.»

He added that «President Obama did not insist on such surveillance even though the IAEA asked Iran to permit it. Tehran said no.»

Recent IAEA reports have not addressed the plutonium path to a bomb with any specificity.

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Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian visits nuclear facilities in Tehran, Iran on Nov. 1, 2025.  (Iranian Presidency / Handout/Anadolu via Getty Images)

A State Department spokesperson told Fox News Digital that, «Iran’s nuclear program poses a threat to the United States and the entire world.»

The spokesperson continued, «Iran today stands in breach of its Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty obligations by failing to provide full cooperation with the IAEA. Iran’s leadership must engage in serious diplomatic negotiations with the United States to resolve the nuclear issue once and for all.»

David Albright, a physicist and president of the Institute for Science and International Security, told Fox News Digital that he is «Highly skeptical that Iran would use plutonium from Bushehr’s spent fuel to make nuclear weapons.»

Bushehr nuclear plant in Iran, on April 29, 2024. (Photo by Morteza Nikoubazl/NurPhoto via Getty Images)

The former weapons inspector, Albright, argued that, «One, Iran would need a design it has not developed. There is nothing in the Nuclear Archive on a plutonium-based nuclear weapon. Two, a diversion from Bushehr would be detected and undoubtedly lead Russia to suspend enriched uranium supplies, leading to a shutdown of a multibillion-dollar investment that supplies the area with electricity. Third, almost all the plutonium in the spent fuel is reactor-grade, and it is feasible that none is weapon-grade.»

Albright added that «Reactor-grade plutonium can be used to make a nuclear weapon, but it is tricky to do so if a significant explosive yield is wanted.» He added that Trump’s former National Security Adviser John Bolton «has been raising this issue for decades, and it is a remote possibility. It was rejected first in the Bush administration.»

Concerns persist about Iran’s devious behavior and its aim to build a nuclear weapon at all costs. As a result, there are calls to outlaw Iran’s plutonium reprocessing and impose rigorous surveillance on Iran’s plutonium infrastructure in a future deal with the U.S.

Andrea Stricker, the deputy director of The Foundation for Defense of Democracies (FDD) Nonproliferation and Biodefense Program, told Fox News Digital. «The United States must insist on a permanent and verified ban on plutonium reprocessing in Iran under any deal.»

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An IDF infographic shows Iran’s Arak heavy water plant, described as a key infrastructure for plutonium production. (IDF)

Stricker noted that Moscow had realized the danger too. «To Russia’s rare credit, it insisted Iran let inspectors back in to safeguard the Bushehr reactor after the June 2025 strikes. Those inspections resumed last August. Plutonium produced at the reactor is not of desirable quality for nuclear weapons, and Iran has not focused on the plutonium route to nuclear weapons since the early 2000s, so it could be difficult for Tehran to work with. They would also need to illicitly acquire and outfit a plutonium reprocessing plant as well as sophisticated equipment to handle and chemically convert the fuel. All of this creates significant obstacles to its use as fuel for nuclear weapons.»

She continued that «The IAEA (International Atomic Energy Agency) could mitigate any proliferation risk at Bushehr by increasing the frequency of inspections to monthly. Russia could also remove the spent fuel that has accumulated at the site.»