A proposed solar power plant near Baker, rejected by the San Bernardino County Board of Supervisors nearly a decade ago, has been revived under a new law allowing developers to bypass local approval for energy projects and seek a green light directly from the California Energy Commission.
If approved, Soda Mountain Solar, LLC would build a 300-megawatt solar plant and battery storage system on 2,670 acres of federal land administered by the Bureau of Land Management, about six miles southwest of Baker. It would operate year-round and deliver electricity to the state’s power grid.
The proposal has existed in various forms for nearly 20 years, but its footprint has been reduced by 36% — from 4,179 acres as originally proposed in 2007 to 2,670 acres. Nevertheless, environmental groups have staunchly opposed the project for its potential threat to the desert bighorn sheep and other plant and animal species. Supporters say it will provide hundreds of jobs.
The San Bernardino County Board of Supervisors rejected the project in August 2016 over potential desert impacts and limited local benefits.
A view of the Soda Mountains near the Mojave National Preserve, in the vicinity of where a 2,670-acre solar power plant is being proposed to be built. (Photo courtesy of Michael Gordon) A desert bighorn sheep in the Soda Mountains, near the Mojave National Preserve. Environmentalists say a proposed 2,670-acre solar plant in the area would threaten the migratory patterns of the wild sheep and have negative impact’s in the desert’s delicate ecosystem. (Courtesy of David Lamfrom, National Parks Conservation Association) The Soda Mountains near the Mojave National Preserve, home to the desert bighorn sheep, which environmentalists say are threatened by a 2,670-acre solar plant that is proposed to be built about six miles southwest of Baker, southeast of the 15 Freeway. (Courtesy of Michael Gordon) Show Caption1 of 3A view of the Soda Mountains near the Mojave National Preserve, in the vicinity of where a 2,670-acre solar power plant is being proposed to be built. (Photo courtesy of Michael Gordon) ExpandOpt-in program
After its rejection by the Board of Supervisors, the project languished for eight years. On Aug. 1, 2024, the applicant filed directly with the California Energy Commission via its opt-in program established under a new state law. Assembly Bill 205, which became law in June 2022, allows solar and clean energy projects to bypass local approval through a streamlined, state-run permitting process overseen by the CEC.
In August, the CEC provided an overview at its first public meeting on the project. An environmental impact report is expected to be released on Monday, Dec. 29, with another meeting to be held within 60 days of its release to accept public comment. The CEC will then decide on whether to approve or deny the project.
‘Slap in the face’
Neal Desai, senior Pacific regional director for the National Parks Conservation Association, said Soda Mountain is the worst type of solar project, and called its revival a “slap in the face” to its opponents.
“This is a betrayal of the public trust, and it’s a betrayal of our national parks and wildlife,” Desai said. He claimed the solar plant also would render useless a planned wildlife crossing over the 15 Freeway, mainly for bighorn sheep, that is within the project’s footprint.
The wildlife crossing is one of three in the works by Caltrans, the California Department of Fish and Wildlife and Brightline West, a privately funded, 218-mile high-speed rail project connecting Rancho Cucamonga to Las Vegas that is under construction.
“This kind of industrial development next to this mountain range is going to threaten the sheep’s ability to actually use it, and the possibility is that the sheep can altogether be scared away, and that’s taking away critical habitat and access to water,” Desai said of the proposed solar plant.
The Soda Mountains provide rugged terrain and wildlife corridors that link to the Mojave National Preserve and are essential for desert bighorn sheep survival, genetic diversity and movement, making the area ecologically and culturally significant in California, Desai said.
He said the project has exchanged hands four time since 2007, with VC Renewables, a national company that develops and operates solar plants, being the latest operator attempting to take a stab at developing the project.
“Every single prior owner of this project has falsely claimed this project can be properly mitigated for desert bighorn sheep,” Desai told CEC commissioners during the Aug. 29 project scoping meeting
Officials at VC Renewables did not respond to a request for comment.
The Soda Mountain Solar Project, a proposed 2,670-acre solar plant near the Mojave National Preserve that has staunchly been opposed by environmentalists but could potentially bring hundreds of jobs to the area six miles southwest of Baker, has been revived after it was stalled for more than eight years.
Jobs promised
Members of the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers, Local 477, in San Bernardino are among the project’s supporters. President Mike Vasquez, who met with CEC officials in July 2025, said 50% of the union’s members are based in the Victor Valley, and that electrical workers also could be pulled from Local 11 in Los Angeles, according to CEC records.
Union Vice President Ben Pratt said the project, if approved, would employ 250 to 300 of its members during its peak construction period, and some could possibly be offered longer term jobs in facility maintenance.
Harmful effects
Opponents say the project’s negative effects on desert wildlife and vegetation outweigh its benefits.
During the August meeting, biologist Laura Cunningham said she fears the project’s impact on the Mojave fringe-toed lizard populations.
“The Mojave fringe-toed lizards have been hugely impacted already, cumulatively, in Riverside County from massive solar developments on their habitat there,” she said. “So, we’re continuing to nibble away at this species, which perhaps needs to be petitioned for federal listing because of all these solar projects on sand habitats.”
Cunningham said the proposed project is also “way too close” to the Mojave National Preserve, and would impact the viewshed and tourism.
Kevin Emmerich, a representative of the nonprofit Basin and Range Watch, said his organization — as well as a coalition of other environmental organizations — has opposed the project for 15 years.
“This one goes back a long way. We opposed this beginning in 2010. San Bernardino County opposed it, and that’s why the CEC is now handling this — the county didn’t want it,” Emmerich said, adding that solar technology has become even more efficient in the past 15 years. “We should be using the built environment for solar. We should be using rooftops over canals, over parking lots. Please, please reject this application.”
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Project manager Hannah Arkin said the company will use “refined construction technology” and “precision grading” to help offset the potential adverse impacts. This will allow for the preservation of desert flora, fauna and habitat, she said.
She also noted the project footprint already had been reduced in 2015 by the Bureau of Land Management specifically to address the impacts to the desert bighorn sheep.
“Therefore, the project presented in the opt-in application today has already provided a significant reduction in the original project footprint, specifically, again, to reduce impacts to the desert bighorn sheep,” Arkin said.
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