Massive Solar Plant Halted Over Endangered Species

The construction of a huge solar plant in Southern California has been put on hold over concerns that it would displace a large population of endangered tortoises from their natural habitat.

The BrightSource Energy 392-megawatt solar farm, planned for construction in the Mojave Desert, has been halted by the U.S. Bureau of Land Management after it was discovered that the 5.6-square mile construction site was home to more than 600 endangered desert tortoises, according to a report from UPI. This was considerably higher than BrightSource's original estimation, which stood at just 38.

Though the project is put on hold while the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service comes up with a new scientific opinion on the site's effect on the larger tortoise population, that could be done by the end of May, the report said. For its part, BrightSource disputes the government's claims over the size of the reptile's population.

California is currently the nation's leader for solar construction projects because of the large amount of direct sunlight the state receives, particularly in its southern regions.

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