**2. Project background**

Americans are increasingly concerned about climate change, and one of the most widely championed ways to address it is through renewable energy [14, 15]. According to pollsters, Americans are highly supportive of solar power. In a Gallup poll, solar energy was endorsed by the public more than any other alternative energy source. In the same poll, solar energy was backed by a large majority in each political party, and even more so in the West than in other regions of the country [16]. In 2016, the Renewable Energy Action Team—the California Energy Commission, California Department of Fish and Wildlife, the U.S. Bureau of Land Management, and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service identified potential renewable energy development areas in Southeastern California based on multiple criteria, including quality of resources, land ownership, slope, access, transmission, and capacity for production. These criteria were mapped and used as a guide for locating future solar energy installations (See **Figure 1**).

*A Multi-Disciplinary Undergraduate Pedagogical Experience Looking at Attitudes… DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/intechopen.101248*

**Figure 1.** *DCREP boundary and land use.*

The importance of eliminating fossil fuels from the global energy portfolio has been well-established. However, the local consequences of doing so deserve attention as well. Despite the Mojave being a desert region with little precipitation, it contains over two thousand species, with 15–18% more to be discovered. One species is the desert tortoise (*Gopherus agassizii*), listed as threatened under the Endangered Species Act. Desert tortoises are "ecological engineers" who create burrows in the ground that provides shelter for many other animal species, allowing them to escape the heat of the desert. They are an **umbrella species**, meaning that they provide protection for other plants and animals in their area.

At present, there are 744 industrial scale solar plants operating in California. Some of the largest are in the Southeastern desert region of the state. Some of the largest plants in southeastern California are listed below (**Table 1**).

The map in **Figure 1** includes typical variables related to site suitability analysis, and this is certainly the first step in the appropriate siting of industrial-scale solar. But it does not include a key variable- the attitudes of area residents towards alternative energy development. Even with the identification of the correct slope, aspect, parcel size, and more, oftentimes projects are hamstrung due public opposition rather than site suitability. In the Mojave, many industrial-scale solar projects have been effectively halted by the general public, with many failing to get approval (e.g., a 3 mw plant in Landers; a 20 mw plant in 29 Palms). Recently, the President's Interior Department decided that Palen Solar would be built just south of Joshua Tree National Park. Palen would/will be a 3100 acre, 500-megawatt power plant able to deliver power to 17,000 residents in Palm


#### **Table 1.**

*Largest solar plants in California.*

Springs, California. With this project, there is a general attitude of distrust between alternative energy developers, community residents, and government authorities. But little systematic assessment has been conducted as to the specific attitudinal variables affecting opposition to solar development.

The construction of solar installations can be problematic for local and global ecosystems, as well as workers along the commodity chains. For one, solar panels are made up of rare earth elements that are difficult to extract and find and whose extraction have major ecological consequences. Most of these elements, such as lithium and cobalt, are resourced from China. Another factor that contributes to the surface disturbance of desert land is the cooling technology used in industrialscale solar. Water is scarce in the desert, so therefore dry and wet-cooling systems are utilized for concentration. Despite their efficiency, they use copious amounts of water per kilowatt hour. A dry cooling system has a large carbon footprint. Industrial solar sites also transform the land through the construction of roads and infrastructure, including the removal of vegetation and grading. Construction produces dust, which can alter ecological processes such as the fertility and water retention possibilities of soil. It can also damage plant species due to root exposure, burial, and abrasion to their leaves and stems. This damage can reduce production and will indirectly affect the wildlife that depend on these plants for food. When bulldozing a site, developers often clear ancient creosote. Road construction also impacts wildlife corridors, dividing animal habitats. All in all, despite the positive impact of solar development globally, often local ecosystems and communities are negatively affected in the process.

This project did not set out to demonize or valorize industrial scale solar. Rather, it took the approach that "education is not indoctrination" (Proctor 2016, personal communication), allowing students to wrestle with the pressing need to decarbonize *and* impacts of solar development on ecosystems and communities. Solar development, in all forms, is often assumed to be unequivocally good [17]. Those who advocate for solar development must be fully cognizant of its broader ramifications, and recognize the need for cleaner supply chains, workers' rights, and incorporation of local voices in installation location decisions.
