A homeowner who keeps using a faulty furnace knows the routine; the heat kicks on and a burning smell drifts through the vents, while the inspector's note sits ignored on the kitchen counter. The house stays warm, so he tolerates the problem. He knows, but he simply doesn't care.
California just made a similar choice in the Mojave Desert.
A Facility That Never Really Closed
Officials in California confirmed the continued operation of the Ivanpah Solar Electric Generating System in the desert, despite long-standing concerns over bird deaths caused by the facility's design.
The plant uses thousands of mirrors to focus sunlight toward central towers, generating intense heat zones that have been criticized for almost a decade.
State regulators admit the environmental impact, but said no to shutting down the facility. Operations continue under existing permits, even as evidence of avian mortality remains well-documented.
A macabre fireworks show unfolds each day along I-15 west of Las Vegas, as birds fly into concentrated beams of sunlight and are instantly incinerated, leaving wisps of white smoke against the blue desert sky.
Workers at the Ivanpah Solar Plant have a name for the spectacle: “Streamers.”
And the image-conscious owners of the 390-megawatt plant say they are trying everything they can think of to stop the slaughter.
Federal biologists say about 6,000 birds die from collisions or immolation annually while chasing flying insects around the facility’s three 40-story towers, which catch sunlight from five square miles of garage-door-size mirrors to drive the plant’s power-producing turbines.
How Birds Became Collateral
Ivanpah's concentrated solar technology creates a superheated air space near the towers. Birds that fly through those zones literally disappear, often described as sudden flashes followed by falling feathers.
The phenomenon earned the unflattering nickname "Streamers" among observers, a label that stuck because the results have remained directly in front of them.
For years, environmental reviews confirmed hundreds, maybe thousands, of annual bird deaths. These include migratory birds protected under federal law, whose deaths didn't come from collisions, but from exposure to the extreme heat generated.
The Politics of Green Certainty
When it was planned and built, California leaders framed Ivanpah as a cornerstone of renewable energy progress. Gov. Gavin Newsom's administration continues to promote aggressive clean energy targets, pun intended, treating solar infrastructure as non-negotiable.
Closing or scaling back the plant complicates those goals and invites uncomfortable questions.
Newsom's decision reveals a hierarchy; carbon reduction outranks wildlife protection when the two collide.
Our Salem Media teammate, John Sexton, writes an apt, "What if?"
You can imagine how it would go over in deep blue California if some natural gas plant announced it planned to incinerate 80,000 live birds over the next 13 years of operation. There would be outrage and possibly threats. But I guess because this is a "green energy" project, the state is fine with it.
Regulators chose to adjust monitoring and mitigation rather than confront the core problem, a choice that keeps the mirrors turning and the towers blazing.
Migratory birds couldn't be reached for comment.
Environmentalism With Exceptions
Like the Sith, advocates often speak in absolutes when opposing pipelines, logging, or other forms of development. Wildlife protection carries moral weight until it gets in the way of favored technology. At Ivanpah, exemptions replaced outrage.
A whole lot of nothing happened: No emergency orders followed, no urgent press conferences demanded accountability, and the birds didn't get the benefit of a pause or the thought of reassessment.
The facility continued because it fits the preferred narrative.
Who Benefits and Who Doesn’t
Utility companies tied to Ivanpah continue to receive revenue and renewable credits. State agencies avoid admitting a flagship project came with unacceptable tradeoffs, while politicians avoid backtracking on years of promises.
That cost is absorbed by the Mojave Desert, where migratory pathways remain altered and carcasses accumulate out of sight. The policy machine continues to move forward without course correction, and the cost stays off all balance sheets and out of press briefings.
Final Thoughts
That homeowner who keeps running his furnace that scorches believes repairs are optional because warm air still flows.
California has kept Ivanpah running for that exact reason: Power still comes out, even if something burns along the way.
The heat remains on, warnings ignored, and the birds never had a say in the system heating the house.
