$2.2B green dream fizzles: Obama admin-backed solar plant to close after incinerating birds, missing energy targets

Ivanpah Solar Power Facility — which at one time was the largest solar plant in the world — is set to be shut down after it lasted only a third of its expected life span and reportedly killed tens of thousands of birds.

The Ivanpah Solar Power Facility is located in San Bernardino County, California, and spans “approximately 3,471 acres of [Bureau of Land Management]-managed public land and incorporates three 459-foot tall power towers and 173,500 heliostat mirrors,” according to the U.S. Department of the Interior.

‘Ivanpah is yet another failed green energy boondoggle, much like Solyndra.’

The New York Post reported on Tuesday that the Ivanpah Solar Power Facility is “set to close in 2026 after failing to efficiently generate solar energy.”

NRG Energy, the Texas-based company that was an Ivanpah partner and the largest investor, said in a statement that the solar plant “has been surpassed by solar photovoltaics (PV) due to much lower capital and operating costs in producing clean energy.”

NRG Energy estimated that the Ivanpah Solar Power Facility “will begin the process of closing its units in early 2026” after regulatory approval from the California Public Utility Commission.

NRG Energy stated, “Once deactivated, the units will be decommissioned, providing an opportunity for the site to potentially be repurposed for renewable PV energy production.”

In January 2025, PG&E announced it would terminate the power purchase agreements with Ivanpah. PG&E determined that “ending the agreements at this time will save customers money compared to the cost of keeping them through 2039.”

In 2011, the U.S. Department of Energy under President Barack Obama issued $1.6 billion in federal loan guarantees for the Ivanpah Solar Power Facility. When the $2.2 billion Ivanpah Solar Power Facility began operating in 2014, it was the world’s largest solar plant and had an expected life span of 30 years.

Jenny Chase, a solar analyst at BloombergNEF, told Climate Depot that Ivanpah never produced more than 75% of its planned annual electricity output.

The Sierra Daily News reported, “Despite federal support and initial optimism about solar thermal technology’s potential for baseload power, Ivanpah never exceeded 75% of its planned electricity output and continues to depend on natural gas to operate.”

Jason Isaac, CEO of the American Energy Institute, told Fox News, “Ivanpah is yet another failed green energy boondoggle, much like Solyndra. Despite receiving $1.6 billion in federal loan guarantees, it never lived up to its promises, producing less electricity than expected while still relying on natural gas to stay operational.”

Steven Milloy, senior fellow at the Energy & Environmental Legal Institute and former Trump EPA transition team member, warned about climate alarmism.

“Soon we will be looking at failures of larger magnitude than Green New Deal spending. No green project relying on taxpayer subsidies has ever made any economic or environmental sense,” Milloy told Fox News. “It’s important that President Trump stop the taxpayer bleeding by ending what he accurately calls the Green New Scam.”

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The U.S. Department of Energy explained how the solar power plant operates, “Ivanpah uses power tower solar thermal technology to generate power by creating high-temperature steam to drive a conventional steam turbine. Mirrors are used to concentrate sunlight and create steam, which is then converted to electricity.”

The Ivanpah Solar Power Facility incinerated tens of thousands of birds with the concentrated sunlight, the Association of Avian Veterinarians stated.

The solar power plant is “believed to be responsible for at least 6,000 bird deaths each year, as the birds can suffer severe burns or become incinerated if they fly too close to the 40-foot towers that concentrate sunlight from five square miles of solar panels.”

The Association of Avian Veterinarians stated, “These numbers are likely an underestimation, as the sight of birds and insects rapidly immolated as they soar too close to the towers, which can reach temperatures of 1,000 degrees Fahrenheit, is so common that staff at the plant have a name for them — ‘streamers.'”

The U.S. Department of the Interior stated that the “Ivanpah Project has resulted in avian mortality, and, consistent with approved plans, the BLM is actively working with the proponent, [the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service], and state agencies to address those impacts.” However, the DOI did not provide an exact number of bird deaths.

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