How solar farms took over the California desert: ‘An oasis has become a dead sea’

Deep in the Mojave desert, about halfway between Los Angeles and Phoenix, a sparkling blue sea shimmers on the horizon. The Riverside East Solar Energy Zone – the ground zero of California’s solar energy boom – stretches for 150,000 acres, making it 10 times the size of Manhattan. The solar plants are blocking endangered species’ natural transport corridors across the desert.”A Mojave desert tortoise under the desert sun. “With solar panels on rooftops and batteries in homes, we’ll finally be able to cut the cord from the big utility companies. Soon, those fields of desert solar farms will be defunct – left as rusting relics of another age.”Back in Lake Tamarisk, the residents are preparing for the long battle ahead.