How ‘green energy’ is threatening biodiversity, human health, and environmental justice: An example from the Mojave Desert, California

ABSTRACT

In recent years, the Mojave Desert, which is known for its unique and endemic plant and animal diversity, has become a preferred area for renewable energy developments. However, an environmental impact that is not calculated into the production of green energy has emerged that not only puts an additional burden on already endangered species but also affects the quality of life for residents living in disadvantaged and underserved communities. Using the example of just another solar farm to be built on 2,300 acres of pristine desert land, we point out the negative impacts of unsustainable land development on community health and environmental justice, driven by the administration of Kern County, which promotes and prioritizes economic growth over residents’ concerns. In the eyes of the local population, several promises by the County to the community, as documented in the 2017–2020 County of Kern Strategic Goals, were broken. This study investigates the effects of unsustainable land development, particularly the threat to iconic Joshua trees (Yucca brevifolia), the increase in PM10 pollution, and the risk of contracting Valley fever for residents of two small desert communities, Boron, and Desert Lakes, in Kern County, California. This study focused on environmental justice issues due to the implementation of an ambitious renewable energy transition plan supported by the administration. This is the first study that documented the presence of the causative agent of Valley fever in soils to be disturbed for ambitious renewable energy development in eastern Kern County using a molecular, culture-independent, approach.

KEYWORDS:

• renewable energy
• Coccidioides
• Valley fever
• Joshua tree
• environmental justice
• Mojave Desert
• PM10 pollution
• coccidioidomycosis
• diagnostic PCR
• dust
• environmental health
• human health
• Joshua trees
• Mojave Desert
• PM10
• soil
• solar plant

1. Introduction

1.1. Mojave Desert Habitat

A substantial part of Eastern Kern County, northern Los Angeles County and San Bernardino County in California are part of the Mojave Desert, a biome characterized as mostly undisturbed desert and xeric shrubland. These biomes have been designated as hotspots for endemic plants and animals and are home to many endangered species (André & Hughson, 2009; Randall et al., 2022). In the spring, extensive fields of wildflowers emerge for a short period of time supporting insects and migrating birds which are treasured by locals and are a magnet for many tourists who enjoy the outdoors.

The endemic Joshua tree (Yucca brevifolia), the desert tortoise (Gopherus agassizii) providing burrows for burrowing owls (Athene cunicularia), the desert golden eagle (Aquila chrysaetos), the Swainson’s Hawk (Buteo swainsoni), and the desert bighorn sheep (Ovis canadensis nelsoni) are among many iconic species that are listed as ‘rare’ or ‘threatened’ under the United States federal Endangered Species Act or are considered ‘vulnerable’ by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN, 2022). Furthermore, the Mojave is home to many small mammals, reptiles, spiders, scorpions, and insects that play an important part in the Mojave ecosystem, but are often overlooked, although many of them have also already decreased in numbers. Already rare plant species such as the Desert cymopterus (Cymopterus deserticola), the Barstow wooly sunflower (Eriophyllum mohavense), the Mojave spineflower (Chorizante spinosa), and the Silver Cholla (Cylindropuntia echinocarpa) are declining due to habitat destruction and climate change (National Park Service, 2022). In September 2020, the Western Joshua tree was considered to become the first plant given protection under the California Endangered Species Act because of the effects of climate change (Binkley, 2021). A month later, the western Joshua tree was designated as a candidate species for listing as threatened under the California’s Endangered Species Act (CESA) (Durant et al., 2012; Los Angeles County Department of Regional Planning, 2020). However, in June 2022, and again in October 2022, a petition to list this species was put on hold by the California Fish and Game Commission, due to visions of a growing economy and financial gains, put forward particularly by the solar industry (Center for Biological Diversity, 2022; Elliott, 2022).

During the hot summer months when most plant life becomes dormant and animal activity occurs primarily at night, the layperson might conclude that the Mojave is lifeless, unworthy to be preserved, and an excellent site for developing because of generally low property values (Cox, 2022a, 2022c). Certainly, short-term financial gain for developers and the counties in and adjacent to the Mojave appears to have priority over conservation efforts of pristine desert land. Furthermore, disrespectful behavior, such as off-road biking in protected habitats and outdoor shooting, has become a favored activity for some visitors and residents and has put additional strain on desert ecosystems. Illegal dumps are increasing near habituated areas and negatively impact life in the Mojave (personal observations). However, many residents appreciate and enjoy the Mojave, among them many educators who are teaching K-12 students about the treasures, endemic species, and uniqueness of the desert.

1.2. Economic Growth and Renewable Energy Development

Traditionally, Kern County is heavily invested in the extraction of fossil fuels. However, more recently, the County seeks to diversify its energy portfolio. Commitments by the state of California to reduce its carbon footprint and to battle climate change have impacted the expansion of Kern County’s fossil fuel industry. Military facilities, such as China Lake Naval Weapon Station, Fort Irwin Naval Training Center, Edwards Air Force Base, and NASA’s Armstrong Flight Research Center are among the most known enterprises in the area, attracting a highly skilled workforce and have been part of Kern County or neighboring counties for decades. The low cost of living and low costs of land purchases are attractive to the developers, industries, and families alike and facilitate ongoing urban sprawl and development. Most recently, Kern County has been identified as an ideal place to become one of the hot spots for carbon sequestration efforts because of its large numbers of depleted oil wells and extensive pipeline network (Heliogen, 2022).

California’s Renewables Portfolio Standard (RPS), one of the states key programs for advancing renewable energy mandates that by 2030, 50% of the state’s electricity should originate from renewable energy sources. By midcentury, California plans to become 100% fossil fuel independent (California Energy Commission, 2017 and 2020. The ambitious plan involves reducing 5.2% of greenhouse gas emissions yearly after 2020 (Governor’s Office of Planning and Research, 2040). Not surprisingly, solar and wind power generation in California has increased rapidly (by 270%) between 2011 and 2014 (Hardin et al., 2017) and continues to do so. As of 2021, more than 800 utility-scale solar projects were under contract across the U.S. to generate almost 70,000 MW of green energy, enough to power more than 11 million homes. More than half of these projects are being planned for the American Southwest, with its abundance of sunshine and open land (Carlton, 2021).

The ever-abundant sunshine and wind resources in the Mojave Desert have triggered the interest of developers, investors, and politicians, to build large-scale renewable energy projects with the goal of counteracting the worst effects of climate change, which is primarily driven by burning fossil fuels. Ambitious plans by private investors see eastern Kern County as a playground for next-generation solar projects. Investors and the County’s planning commission believe that solar thermal plants in eastern Kern County will have the potential to serve industrial processes beyond the capacity of photovoltaic solar farms, providing increased amounts of energy that could be used for mining and carbon capture. In 2018, Kern County’s solar and wind energy combined comprised 60% of the ‘The Desert Renewable Energy Development Plan’ (DRECP), a multi-agency joint plan for the entire Mojave Desert that shows the Western Mojave as a developmental focus area for renewable energy, primarily solar and wind power projects, many of them in the planning stage (Bureau of Land Management, Desert Renewable Energy Conservation Plan, 2016, Center for Biological Diversity, 2016; Cox, 2022b). Consequently, Kern County has diversified its energy industry beyond oil and gas extraction to renewable energy from large-scale wind and solar installations, hoping to generate additional long-lasting high-quality jobs besides reducing its carbon footprint.

Between 2008 and 2014, 101,154 acres of pristine desert land, as well as abandoned farmland were developed to build solar and wind farms in Kern County (Planning and natural resources department of kernKern countyCounty, leading the way in renewable energy projects, 2016). The Kern County Department of Planning and Natural Resources reported to the Kern County Board of Supervisors that by the end of 2015, 10000 MW of renewable energy projects were permitted, producing 8,000 jobs, and generating $40 million in property taxes a year, far overreaching the goal of the state of California which requested 5,000 MW by 2020 from Kern County (Bakersfield, 2022). As of 2019, Kern County holds the highest generation of renewable energy (15.3 TWh) in the state of California (Zhang et al., 2022). Among others, Kern County, is home to the 192-MW Rosamond Central solar project, and the 121-MW Springbok project which is part of the 448-MW cluster of projects in Kern County, at the southern end of California’s Central Valley, which were all completed recently (PV Magazine, 2022). Furthermore, the proposed developments will bring additional financial gain to Kern County in form of property taxes. Between 2018 and 2021, 35 additional projects have been approved or are in the planning stage, half of them for solar projects, to continue renewable energy developments expediting environmental impact reports and permits (Kern County Department of Planning and Natural Resources, Environmental Documents, 2002; Kern County Energy Summit, 2018 and 2021)) (Figure 1).

Figure 1. Overview of already operating solar energy (yellow) projects of different sizes and at different stages of planning (orange and red), see also (Solar Energy Industries Association SEIA, 2022) (A). View of the Antelope Valley Freeway, October 11, 2021 (photo: M. Richardson) (B).

1.3. Example: Aratina solar plant

Besides supporting the ever-increasing energy demand of large cities nearby, such as Los Angeles, located a few miles south of the Mojave Desert (Southern California Edison, 2022), the Monterey Bay Community Power Authority and Silicon Valley Clean Energy is interested in renewable energy harvested in Kern County to produce goods using green energy at a low price, for example by the planned Aratina solar farm (Avantus, 2022) of the communities of Boron and Desert Lakes.

The Aratina solar project that at the center of our study, is currently in the planning stage and was chosen as an example to show and critically discuss how green energy projects are being supported by the County’s administration, promoting growth and development against the concerns of the local population. This solar ranch will be constructed on land adjacent to the rural communities of Boron and Desert Lakes, located a few miles east of Edwards Air Force Base. The chosen area for construction supports the growth of many endemic special status plants, such as the Desert cymopterus (Cymopterus deserticola), Barstow wooly sunflower (Eriophyllum mohavense), Mojave spineflower (Chorizanthe spinosa), and Silver cholla (Cylindropuntia echinocarpa). It will be built on desert tortoise habitat within the Western Mojave Recovery Unit under the Revised Recovery Plan for the Mojave Desert tortoise population. The planned construction site interrupts exchange between populations from Fremont-Kramer and Superior Cronese Critical Habitat Units. Besides reducing habitat for threatened desert tortoises, other already threatened or rare species such as the Mojave ground squirrel (Xerospermophilus mohavensis), the burrowing owl (Athene cunicularia), the American badger (Taxidea taxus), the kit fox (Vulpes macrotis), the desert kangaroo rat (Dipodomys deserti) and many more will be negatively impacted. The Aratina Environmental Impact Report further states that despite their dust mitigation methods, an increase in fugitive dust emissions will be expected due to grading of the land, leaving the naked soil, now bare of biological soil crusts, vulnerable for erosion. The Aratina solar farm which will generate approximately 530 MW of energy will be built on 2,300 acres of pristine desert land scattered with iconic Joshua trees.

Construction is already under way for another 100-MW solar ranch, called the Rabbitbrush solar plant, five miles west of the City of Rosamond, which has led to increased fugitive dust emissions in the area (Cox, 2022b). Despite concerns raised by the local communities of increased health hazards by disturbance of desert soils, and decreased visibility on highways, the Kern County’s Board of Supervisors unanimously approved the construction of the Aratina solar farm. In addition, the destruction of threatened Joshua tree habitat will affect more than 4,000 Joshua trees (Aratina Solar Project. Draft Environmental Impact Report, 2022; Orr, 2021) (Figure 2 and Supplementary Table A).

Figure 2. A. majestic Joshua tree in subsection 2 of the planned Aratina solar farm. B. Cut and displaced Joshua trees that had to give way to renewable energy developments in the western Mojave Desert in 2016, see (Basin & Range Watch, 2021). C. Joshua tree survey (Environmental Impact Report [EIR] Aratina project, 2021; (Aratina Solar Project. Draft Environmental Impact Report, 2022)).

1.4. Fugitive dust and Valley fever

Since 2008, large renewable energy developments, especially in the southwestern and southeastern part of the Mojave have caused substantial soil degradation, followed by erosion, leading to an increase in Particulate Matter (<10 µm) (PM10), and resulting not only in habitat loss for many species (Lovich & Ennen, 2011; Hernandez et al. 2017; Stringfellow, 2017; Urban et al. 2018; LeGrand et al., 00002022) but also leading to an increase in respiratory illnesses such as asthma, and Valley fever that are above the California average (California Department of Public Health. Environmental Health Investigations Branch, 2022; Kern County Public Health, 2022). In previous years, increased PM10 values due to grading of the land for large-scale renewable energy projects were documented for the Antelope Valley portion located in the Western Mojave Desert (Colson et al., 2017).

Overall, in California, those counties with the highest rates of poverty, such as Kern County, also represent the counties with the highest incidence of Valley fever, a respiratory illness caused by an endemic fungal pathogen. Low-income patients such as many farmworkers, among them Latinos and African Americans, often lack health insurance and make up a significant part of patients with disseminated forms of Valley fever, due to delayed diagnosis of the disease (Hector et al., 2011)]Furthermore, in addition to chronically elevated PM2.5 and PM10 values, a uniformly high frequency of Valley Fever and childhood asthma are being observed throughout the Antelope Valley Community in the Mojave Desert (Antelope Valley Air Quality Management District, Antelope Valley Community Air Monitoring Proposal, 2018).

The arid and semi-arid areas of the Mojave Desert are endemic to the fungal pathogens Coccidioides immitis and C. posadasii which are adapted to the climate conditions of the so-called Lower Sonoran Lifezone (Daubenmire, 1938; Elconin et al. 1964; Baptista-Rosas et al. 2007; Fisher et al. 2007; Baptista-Rosas et al., 2012). When dry soil is disturbed, the barrel-shaped arthroconidia of the pathogens, which enables them to survive desiccation, can become airborne and distributed by the wind, sometimes hundreds of miles (Sprigg et al., 2014). These arthroconidia are approximately 2–5 μm in length, which is small enough to remain suspended in the air for hours to days. When inhaled into the lungs, an infection may result (Kirkland & Fierer, 1996) that has been described as Valley fever, coccidioidomycosis, or desert rheumatism. Although about 60% of infections are asymptomatic, and most other patients experience self-limited influenza-like symptoms, rashes, and fatigue (Saubolle et al., 2007), some patients develop more severe symptoms that can lead to dissemination of the pathogen to skin, bone, and meninges of the brain. At highest risk for disease complication and dissemination are immunocompromised patients including pregnant women, the very old and the very young, and patients suffering from diseases that affect the immune system, such as HIV (Galgiani et al., 2005). Furthermore, humans of African or Filipino descent are considered at higher risk for disease dissemination, likely due to genetic predisposition (Louie et al., 1999). Coccidioidomycosis is believed to be profoundly underdiagnosed and its impact on lost productivity grossly underappreciated (Thompson Iii & Chiller, 2022). Even though fungistatic medication to treat the disease is available, no vaccine has been developed yet, and no cure exists (Galgiani et al., 2022). Coccidioides spp. are endemic in the Mojave Desert. However, soil analyses prior to activities that result in soil disturbance are not required, even though residents in this area are plagued by Valley fever and the pathogen has been detected in soil and dust samples (Colson et al., 2017; Guevara et al., 2015; Lauer et al. 2017; Lauer et al., 2020).

1.5. Community data

Compared to the rest of California and despite dedicated efforts for lasting change, Kern County continues to have higher rates of unemployment, drug abuse, infant mortality, sexually transmitted diseases, obesity, and obesity-related diseases. Air quality remains poor for most of the dry season, the average household income is comparably low, health insurance is often lacking, as well as educational attainment and access to health care and healthy food (Kern Public Health, Community Health Assessment and Improvement Plan, 2022).

The population of cities, towns, and small settlements in the Mojave Desert in California, where large areas of land have been converted to photovoltaic farms in recent years, includes a large percentage of people of color, many of them with limited access to health care or no health insurance, among them many migrants with limited education. In a 2018–2019 community health assessment and improvement plan, 38.5% of respondents identified lack of health insurance as one of the top 3 barriers to healthy living (Kern Public Health, Community Health Assessment and Improvement Plan, 2022). This has been documented for Northern Los Angeles County, Service Planning Area (SPA 1), the Antelope Valley in the Mojave Desert (Los Angeles County Department of Public Health, 2014; Schwartz and Terashita, 2017).

Boron, with only 2,052 inhabitants, as of 2022, has lost 10% of its residents since 2020 and has a poverty rate of 28.7% compared to a California average of 11.8% (City, 2022). The most common employment sectors of Boron residents are Retail Trade, Mining, Quarrying, & Oil & Gas Extraction, and Educational Services. As of 2020, 52% of residents self-declared their race as White, 25% as Hispanic, 11% declared being of Two or More races, 6% were Asians, 1% were Native Americans and 2% Others. Eighteen percent of the residents have not received a high school diploma and only 10.8% achieved a bachelor’s degree or higher (Data USA. Boron, CA, 2022). The percentage of residents >65 years without health insurance in Kern County, San Bernardino County, and Los Angeles County is similar to the U.S. average of 9.8% (United States Census Bureau, 2022). The community of Desert Lakes is considered part of the City of Boron.

1.6. Aim of this study

The aim of this study is to raise awareness to the increasing environmental justice issues in the Mojave Desert of California where ambitious plans to transition from fossil fuels towards renewable energy are being pursued against community health advocates and environmentalist’s voices, using the example of the Aratina solar plant.

2. Material and Methods

2.1. Soil sampling

Soil samples were collected in October and November 2021 in Kern County, CA, south and west of Boron and Desert Lakes in all five subsections of the approved Aratina solar ranch. Overall, 32 samples were collected using sterile sampling material and sterile collection containers (40 g, 5–10 cm depth). Coordinates from all sampling sites were documented (Table 1).

Table 1. Coordinates and elevation of all sampling sites. C. posadasii positive sampling sites are indicated in red

Sample ID	Coordinates and elevation (ft)
Sampling date: 10/17/2021
4–1	N 35° 000.062, W 117° 42.041, 2387
4–2	N 35° 000.070, W 117° 42.404, 2386
4–3	N 35° 000.079, W 117° 42.403, 2384
4–4	N 35° 000.079, W 117° 42.404, 2383
4–5	N 35° 000.137, W 117° 42.374, 2390
2–1	N 34° 059.884, W 117° 41.936, 2415
2–2	N 34° 059.884, W 117° 41.936, 2415
2–3	N 34° 059.752, W 117° 42.100, 2416
2–4	N 34° 059.703, W 117° 42.106, 2413
2–5	N 34° 059.703, W 117° 42.106, 2413
3–1	N 34° 059.942, W 117° 39.974, 2441
3–2	N 34° 059.934, W 117° 40.045, 2438
3–3	N 34° 059.934, W 117° 40.045, 2438
3–4	N 34° 059.838, W 117° 40.057, 2446
3–5	N 34° 059.771, W 117° 40.096, 2443
6–1	N 34° 059.491, W 117° 39.137, 2497
6–2	N 34° 059.485, W 117° 39.145, 2496
6–3	N 34° 059.510, W 117° 39.288, 2491
6–4	N 34° 059.515, W 117° 39.337, 2481
6–5	N 34° 059.528, W 117° 39.366, 2476
Sampling date: 11/7 (sites 2 and 3) and 11 November 2021 (5 and 1)
1–1	N 34° 059.422, W 117° 38.110, 2528
1–2	N 34° 059.433, W 117° 38.205, 2519
1–3	N 34° 059.450, W 117° 38.241, 2516
2–6	N 34° 059.618, W 117° 40.432, 2465
2–7	N 34° 059.772, W 117° 40.453, 2449
2–8	N 34° 059.923, W 117° 40.399, 2439
3–6	N 34° 059.786, W 117° 40.024, 2480
3–7	N 34° 059.660, W 117° 39.986, 2477
3–8	N 34° 059.708, W 117° 39.881, 2472
3–9	N 34° 059.788, W 117° 39.771, 2469
5–1	N 35° 000.778, W 117° 43.829, 2315
5–2	N 35° 000.673, W 117° 43.806, 2316
5–3	N 35° 000.643, W 117° 43.775, 2318
5–4	N 35° 000.593, W 117° 43.701, 2325

2.2. Soil parameters

The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) Web Soil Survey (WSS) tool was used to assess soil taxonomy information and parameters such as pH, and electrical conductivity, as well as other parameters for soils around Boron and Desert Lakes, CA (United Stated Department of Agriculture, Natural Resources Conservation Services. Web Soil Survey, 2019).

2.3. Community data

Information about the community structure, ethnicities, educational background, healthcare coverage, poverty level, etc., of Boron in comparison to Kern-, San Bernardino-, and Los Angeles County, as well as averaged data for California, was obtained from public databases such as (City, 2022; Census Reporter. Boron, Ca, 2022; United States Census Bureau, 2022).

2.4. Incidence of Valley fever and PM10 burden

Data about the increase in Valley fever incidence over time for several counties in the Mojave Desert were obtained from the California Department of Public Health open data portal (California Department of Public Health. Open Data, 2022).

Daily Average PM10 Beta Attenuation Monitor (BAM) Data, as well as days exceeding the California standard level of 50 µg/m³ were accessed using the open data portal of the California Air Resources Board [(California Air Resources Board. Air Quality Data Query Tool, 2022)]. The ambient air quality standards in California are stricter compared to the national standards. For example, the 24-hour average PM10 standard for California is 50 µg/m³ compared to a national average of 150 µg/m³. The annual arithmetic mean concentration of PM10 in California should not exceed 20 µg/m³, and there is no national standard (California Air Resources Board. Ambient Air Quality Standards, 2022). It should be noted that not all data was complete for each year; however, the data were useful to show a trend.

2.5. Detection of Coccidioides

DNA was extracted from all soil samples using the DNEasy Powerlyzer DNA extraction kit (Qiagen USA) following the protocol provided by the manufacturer. Prior to extraction, aliquots of soil were heated for 30 min at 70°C and then incubated at 56°C with Proteinase K (100 μg/mL) to enhance cell lysis from vegetative cells and dormant forms and thus to increase the sensitivity of this culture-independent approach. The success of the extraction was verified via electrophoresis using 2% agarose gels in a 1× Tris-Borate-EDTA (TBE) buffer. Gels were visualized using SYBR Safe^TM DNA stain (Invitrogen, Carlsbad, CA) and documented on a GelDoc System (BioRad, CA).

To detect Coccidioides, a nested Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR) method was used (Baptista-Rosas et al., 2012) with modifications. This nested PCR included three individual PCR reactions to detect the pathogen. In a first PCR primer pair NSA3/NLC2 amplified a ~1,000 bp 18S rDNA fragment of all fungi, followed by a PCR with primer pair NSI1/NLB4 to detect species in the order of the Onygenales (~900 bp). The last PCR, a diagnostic PCR, is then performed with primer EC3/EC100 (~550 bp) (Johnson et al., 2014) which is specific to Coccidioides. This diagnostic primer pair is more specific to the pathogen compared to the one originally proposed Baptista-Rosas et al., 2012). This diagnostic primer pair targets the intertranscribed region 1 and intertranscribed region 2 of the ribosomal gene, respectively. A positive control used for all PCRs was obtained from C. posadasii Δchs5 strain (NR4548, BEI Resources). The success of PCRs was verified using 2% agarose gel electrophoresis as described above. PCR products were sequenced and compared to entries in the GenBank nucleotide database (Benson et al., 2010) to ensure that they indeed represent Coccidioides. All PCR amplicons must be sequenced to confirm that they indeed represent Coccidioides, because occasionally false-positive results are obtained depending on the fungal diversity and abundance of fungi in the soil. Negative controls for DNA extractions and all PCRs were included, as well.

3. Results

3.1. Soil Parameters

The dominant soil types in the five subsections of the Aratina solar project are taxonomically classified as Cajon loamy sand and Cajon gravelly loamy sand (mixed, thermic Typic Torripsamments), Neuralia sandy loam (fine-loamy, mixed, thermic Typic Haplargids) and soils belonging to the Norob-Neuralia complex (fine-loamy, mixed, thermic Typic Natrargids). Based on data available from the USDA WSS database, the soil pH appears slightly alkaline and almost uniform in the sampling area with values between 7.6 and 8.2, depending on soil type. The electrical conductivity, indicating soil salt content, ranges between 1 and 5.5 dS/m (Figure 3A,B). Clay content ranges between 16% and 24.6%. Sand is quantitatively the most abundant grain size in soils at all sampling sites with values between ~40% and 80% (Figure 3c,d). The sandy loams are very vulnerable to erosion, as can be seen in Figure 4 that shows high wind erodibility indices between 86 and 250 tons/acres/year. The eastern portion of site 2 and the southwestern part of site 3 show erodibility indices of 220 tons/acres/year. Soils in these areas; especially the Cajon loamy coarse sand and soils of the Cajon–Norob complex have a low resistance to dust propagation and a high risk for damage by fire. Furthermore, the rating for construction of ground-based solar arrays, either soil-based or ballast anchor systems, was somewhat limited and very limited, due to low strength, risk of flooding and steel corrosion, shrink-swell, as well as slope direction and gradient of the environment based on information on the USDA WSS (Figure 4).

Figure 3. Chemical, physical, and other parameters of soils in the sampling area as indicated by the USDA web soil survey database. A. pH: light blue (7.6–7.7), blue (7.9–8.2). B. Electrical conductivity (dS/m): light green (2), red (1), dark blue (5.5). C. Clay (%): light green (16–17.9) yellow (11.8–13.3), red (4) dark blue (24.6). D. Sand (%): light green (61.5–74.6), yellow (52.7), light blue (74.6–79.2)-, dark blue, red (40.3). E. Wind erodibility index (tons/acres/year): yellow (86), light green (134), blue (220), dark blue (250). F. Fugitive dust resistance: red (moderate), yellow (low) (Data: USDA WSS).

Figure 4. A. Evaluation for ground-based solar arrays, ballast anchor systems or soil-based anchor systems, red (somewhat limited), yellow (very limited). B. Potential for damage by fire, yellow (moderate), red (high) based on information obtained from the USDA WSS.

3.2. Incidence of Valley fever and PM10 pollution

Data compiled from the California Department of Public Health indicate a significant increase in Valley fever incidence for Kern County in the Southern San Joaquin Valley and two counties in the Mojave Desert, Los Angeles County and San Bernardino County. Before 2017, the rate of coccidioidomycosis among residents of the Antelope Valley in northern Los Angeles County where most renewable energy projects have been constructed was already about ninefold higher than elsewhere in the county (Levenda et al., 2021a). Our data, compiled for the following years, shows a continued increase in disease incidence. Data for Kern County are highest overall, dropping in 2016 to 2001 levels, but after that continued to rise again, with an increase in incidence of ~73% in 2020 compared to 2019. Since 2016, all three counties observed a steep increase in disease incidence, ~158% for Kern County, ~49% for Los Angeles County, and ~483% for San Bernardino County (Figure 5).

Figure 5. Valley fever incidence between 2001 and 2020 in Kern County, CA (A) and in Los Angeles County and San Bernardino County (B). Trendlines with R² values showing the increase disease incidence are displayed [(California Department of Public Health. Open Data, 2022)].

Furthermore, an increase in number of days that are exceeding the California PM10 standard of 50 µg/m³ (24-hour average) was observed over time for all six air quality monitoring sites. The highest number of days exceeding the California standard were observed in 2020 in Barstow (47 days) and Trona-Athol (31 days), both in San Bernardino County, and in 2021 in Mojave (41 days), Kern County, and again Trona-Athol (31 days), San Bernardino County. Overall, the number of days exceeding PM10 pollution of 50 µg/m³ increased in 2020 for all monitoring stations except for Lancaster (Division Street station, Los Angeles County) where no data for these years was available (Figure 6).

Figure 6. Map of the Western Mojave Desert with indication of locations of air monitoring stations (white dots) in Kern County, Los Angeles County, and three stations in San Bernardino County (separated by white lines). The community of Boron is seen at the eastern border of Kern County (A). Number of days exceeding the California Standard for clean air (50 µg/m³) for six monitoring stations (white dots, labeled). R² values describing the trend lines (lines not shown) are indicated, as well (B).

3.3. Soil analysis for Coccidioides

Soil samples were collected from all five project subsections. DNA was successfully extracted from all samples and verified via 2% agarose electrophoresis (data not shown). The quantity of extracted DNA was not determined. PCR results obtained with the diagnostic primer pair EC3/EC100 indicated seven positive samples (~22%) that were confirmed via sequencing to be 99–100% related to C. posadasii (GenBank Accession # MT436836 and MT436388 (Figure 7). Five positive soil samples were detected in section 2, southwest of Boron. Two additional ones were positive, one in section 4 and one west of section 1 (Figure 8). All soil samples from sections 3 and 5 were negative for the pathogen. Examples of sites where Coccidioides was detected are shown in Figure 9. DNA sequences from six positive samples were deposited in the GenBank nucleotide database (Accession # OP719263–68).

Figure 7. PCR results obtained with the diagnostic primer pair EC3/EC100 (~550 bp), specific for Coccidioides. A. Results for samples collected in October 2021. B. Results for samples collected in November 2021. (Nc = negative control, PC = positive control, PCR marker: G316A, Promega, WI).

Figure 8. Soil sampling sites between the communities of Desert Lake and Boron where construction of the Aratina photovoltaic ranch has been proposed. The locations circled in different colors are the subsections of the planned solar project (red dots indicate individual sampling spots; white labels indicate individual sampling spots that tested positive for Coccidioides spp., and black labels indicate a negative site).

Figure 9. Sampling sites where Coccidioides was detected. A. Site 3-3: soil disturbance due to seed harvester ant activity (Pogonomyrmex sp). B and C. Sites 4-4 and 6-5: soil sample were collected near a dormant or dead Salt Bushes (Atriplex spp).

4. Discussion

Renewable energy production, even though needed to mitigate global climate change, can heavily burden local communities and their environment, while at the same time providing major benefits to residents living in areas far away, similar to the management of fossil-based energy facilities in the past and now. These impacts are disproportionate, often affecting communities of color, or low-income communities more than others (Levenda et al., 2021a). Despite recent efforts to sustain and increase development, the B3K Prosperity Market Assessment, updated in March 2021 shows that Kern County is starting to fall behind in core aspects of economic performance and competitiveness compared to other parts of the nation (Market Assessment, 2021). This assessment states that even though the construction of large renewable energy projects has generated short-term construction jobs and visibility for the region, these projects have not been a large source of longer-term durable job creation and concludes that other opportunities, more directly leveraging the region’s legacy oil and gas strengths, may offer greater opportunities for growth. Despite all these efforts, small residential communities in Kern County have rarely benefitted from these developments. Prior to the renewable energy boom in the Mohave desert, an increase in urban sprawl, land use for mining, agriculture, and warehouse constructions, already left a damaging effect on the unique fauna and flora in this unique biome (Randall et al., 2022). Apparently, utility-scale solar energy development (USSED) in the Mojave is not planned in a sustainable way; in fact, it is predominantly profit oriented. Visual and ecological landscape values, water availability and agricultural land preservation ethics are playing a minor role for landowners to host USSEs on their land (Biggs et al., 2022).

In October 2021, the Kern County Board of Supervisors, which is committed to accelerate the County’s economic growth, approved a 2,300 acres photovoltaic project with battery installations adjacent to the communities of Boron and Desert Lakes in the Mojave Desert, CA, despite concerns and protest from community residents who have been experiencing the effects of large-scale soil degradation and erosion since the renewable energy boom began. The Aratina solar project, which will see completion in 2023, will generate enough energy destined to power businesses and homes in the Monterey Bay area and the Silicon Valley areas of California, equivalent to about 93,000 homes. However, homes of Boron and Desert Lakes residents will not benefit from the solar energy harvested in their own backyards. Instead, they will see the destruction of approximately 4,500 Joshua trees (Y. brevifolia), a succulent tree which is a candidate to be listed as threatened under the California Endangered Species Act (CESA). Many trees are mature and of old age, and their destruction will also lead to a loss of habitat for endangered species such as the desert tortoise (G. agassizii), burrowing owl (A. cunicula), and the Swainson’s Hawk (B. swainsoni), among many others. As a candidate species, the western Joshua tree has full protection under CESA and any removal of western Joshua trees requires authorization from the state Wildlife Department (Orr, 2021; Elliott, 2022); however, illegal removal of the trees has been rarely enforced, especially not on private land. More recently though, people were fined when removing those trees without a permit (Madden, 2021; Mark, 2021). In addition to habitat loss, the Joshua tree and many of the endemic plant and animal species are now exposed to increased environmental stress due to climate change (Riddell et al., 2021; Wilkening et al., 2021) but will likely be able to adapt to even extreme environmental events (Sirchia et al., 2022).

Furthermore, it should be noted that the sandy soils in the Mojave Desert near Boron and Desert Lakes with their high erosion potential, low resistance to dust propagation, and high fire risk potential, are not a prime choice for constructions based on information from the USDA WSS database. When disturbed, these sandy loams are termed limited or very limited for solar array construction because of low strength, risk of flooding, steel corrosion, and high shrink-swell potential. This might lead to problems and additional costs for maintenance and repair in the future (Kristinof & Collingwood, 2019).

In addition to conflicts with wildlife and conservation efforts, serious air quality issues emerged. The increasing fugitive dust emissions in the region led to an increased risk for residents in rural desert communities of contracting respiratory illnesses, such as Valley fever, which can be considered a serious burden, and is clearly not a benefit to those living in the region. Residents of Boron and Desert Lakes raised concerns about the effects the construction of the Aratina solar plant will have on air quality, wildlife, human health, aesthetics, and tourism. The soils adjacent to Boron and Desert Lakes have a very low fugitive dust resistance, a high wind erodibility index, which is aiding in PM10 emissions. The fugitive dust from these sites likely includes arthroconidia of Coccidioides, as it was detected in 5 out of 12 (41.7%) of the soil samples collected at site 2, a site with high potential of erosion.

Furthermore, the desert communities fear that community-focused economic growth in the area will cease because the solar plant will occupy a large percentage of land south and west of Boron and Desert Lakes that will not be available for community growth. This concern is justified because once the surrounding land is labeled as agricultural, which enables the pursuit of further renewable energy projects, it will restrict development for housing or private businesses from local residents. Water conservation is also a point of concern for residents, who are aware of the already sensitive local water resources. Wetting graded land to reduce fugitive dust emissions has been criticized for wasting water during the ongoing drought (Barth, 2021).

Another aspect to consider for land developers is that the Mojave Desert is highly endemic for the above-mentioned fungal pathogen Coccidioides. The common practice of grading soil prior to construction and leaving soil purposely unvegetated between solar panels after construction is completed is a major reason for the observed increase in fugitive dust emissions in the Mojave Desert. Most of the year, the wind that picks up in the early afternoon is blowing from west to east, transporting dust generated in the western Mojave, for example from the Antelope Valley to eastern counties, and with it arthroconidia of Coccidioides (Colson et al., 2017). We have shown that especially for the northeastern parts of the Mojave Desert in San Bernardino County and in the City of Mojave (Kern County), the increase in PM10 pollution doubled or even quadrupled over the last 10 years, which is very concerning, and requires improved dust mitigation measures to prevent respiratory illnesses and low visibility on highways. The visual impacts of fugitive dust can be immense as observed by residents near many renewable energy projects in the southwestern U.S., and as was documented for the 100-MW Sunshine Valley solar project in the Amargosa Valley in Nevada, besides many others, where dust mitigation was very limited or ineffective, causing workers to contract Valley fever (Department of Industrial Relations, 2017; Sokolova, 2019).

The increase in PM10 pollution from eroded soil bears a threat to the human communities in the Mojave Desert and beyond, in the form of Valley fever, also known as coccidioidomycosis. Valley fever case reports have been increasing in Kern County, Northern Los Angeles County, and San Bernardino County, since the late 1990s. A further, even more significant increase in disease incidence was observed since the massive soil disturbance due to renewable energy construction in the Mojave Desert started, supplemented by continuous urban sprawl, and effects of the ongoing drought. Grading of the soil, a common practice prior to large-scale construction efforts results in the complete removal of the vegetation, biological soil crusts, and desert pavements that protect the soil from eroding and is responsible for the increase in fugitive dust emissions, measurable as soilborne PM10. Dust mitigation efforts, required by EIRs, appear insufficient, and the frequent dust storm events are affecting not only adjacent communities but also communities further away, depending on the strengths and duration of the wind. The Santa Ana winds, for example, bring dust from the Mojave Desert more than 100 km out into the Pacific Ocean, exposing coastal communities and marine wildlife to arthroconidia of Coccidioides spp. (Huckabone et al., 2015; Lauer et al., 2019]. Since 2018, reported cases of Valley fever in Kern County have tripled and are reaching 3,000 cases every year, with almost 3,500 in 2019. Case numbers and disease incidence have tripled compared to 2014/15 (California Department of Public Health, 2019)]. In addition to the reported cases, which are considered the tip of the iceberg, also the underreported, under diagnosed, and misdiagnosed cases of Valley fever must be included in the substantial burden on health-care costs to the state. During 2000–2011 the median length of stay per hospitalization for Valley fever patients in California was 6 days, with a median charge per day of approximately US$6,800. The median total hospital charge per patient amounted to US$55,062 (range approximately $1,000 to >$6 million). During the same period, the total charges for all coccidioidomycosis-associated hospitalizations in California was US$2.2 billion, and the average annual total was US$186 million. Government payers (Medi-cal and Medicare) were the expected source of payment for 62% of charges (Sondermeyer et al., 2013). The average direct and indirect financial costs, as well as average workdays lost for Valley fever cases of different severity were calculated, ranging from uncomplicated Valley fever to chronic disease and disseminated disease, to be substantial (Wilson et al., 2019). Based on his calculations, the direct financial burden per case could range from $~22,000 to over $1 M/year. Early recognition and intervention in addition to proper dust mitigation efforts to prevent manifestation of the disease in the first place is the key to reduce this healthcare burden that particularly affects vulnerable communities.

It should be noted that even though any Dust Control Plan (DCP) being part of an Environmental Impact Report (EIR) needs approvement by the Mojave Desert Air Quality Management District (Mojave Desert Air Quality Management District, 2017), adherence to it is rarely enforced. Residents of rural desert communities, such as Boron and Desert Lakes, which are already disadvantaged, must carry the burden of dust exposure without benefitting from the economic boom of renewable energy construction. Residents of the Mojave Desert raised their voices to criticize solar power’s land grab and the threat to the desert’s biodiversity (Bureau of Land Management, Desert Renewable Energy Conservation Plan, 2016). An estimated 4,276 Western Joshua trees would be destroyed to construct the Aratina Solar Project (Aratina Solar Project. Draft Environmental Impact Report, 2022). The Environmental Impact Report review by the Kern County Planning and Natural Resources Department found anticipated significant and unavoidable impacts on aesthetics, air quality, biological resources, hazards and hazardous materials, and wildfire (Kern County Department of Planning and Natural Resources, Environmental Documents, 2022c and 2022d). Urban planners in Kern County, northern Los Angeles County, and San Bernardino County, have been reminded repeatedly by residents and conservation groups (Mojave Desert Land Trust, 2022; Mojave Desert Resource Conservation District, 2022) of considering strategies to minimize negative impacts of land development on wildlife and community health in the Mojave Desert, since the California Desert Renewable Energy Conservation Plan (Conservation Biology Institute, 2010)]was released. These concerns resulted in a petition to stop the Aratina solar plant, receiving 451 signatures (Leal, 2020), to no avail.

In addition to renewable energy project, the Mojave has been discovered as a priority location for distribution centers, due to the explosion of online shopping. The number of warehouses in Riverside County and San Bernardino County, for example, rose from 62 in 1980 to 1,318 in 2020, one of the largest increases in the entire U.S [(LMernit, 2022)].

It should be noted that Environmental Impact Reports (EIRs) include dust prevention plans and mitigation methods during construction that are not enforced and also controversial, such as spraying oil instead of water. Furthermore, these dust prevention plans do not include any dust mitigation measures after completion of construction and are limited to watering down the dust [(Aratina Solar Project. Draft Environmental Impact Report, 2022)]. Wetting sandy soil with water might not be an effective method to prevent dust emissions, as it was observed in San Luis Obispo County, CA, where eight workers contracted Valley fever despite following dust mitigation methods (Das et al., 2012). The additional water available to microbes might even spark the growth of soil-borne pathogens, such as Coccidioides, which survive the dry season in the form of heat and drought resistant arthroconidia. Spraying water might spur pathogen growth and aid in its dispersal (Head et al., 2022).

As mentioned earlier, Kern County has ambitious plans to develop and diversify the established industry and to attract new companies. In early 2015, an economic road map was developed by the Milken Institute to widen access to capital, create jobs, and improve human health, ultimately increasing the County’s prosperity by advancing development and collaborations between private and state entities (California Center and the Center for Jobs and Human Capital, An Economic Road Map for Kern County, 2015). Three main goals were postulated in the 2017–2020 County of Kern Strategic Goals. Those promises made by the County’s administration that were broken in the eyes of the residents of Boron and Desert Lake, are listed under each main goal:

1. Enhance Quality of Life for Kern County Residents

a. Invest in infrastructure that benefits our community most

2. Be a Model of Excellence in Managing Business and People

a. Prepare for the future

3. Foster a Culture of Innovation

a. Develop and sustain public partnerships (see Kern County, 2022a for details)

Instead of increasing quality of life, residents are exposed to an increased risk of contracting Valley fever, and the infrastructure built, for example in the form of the Aratina Solar plant did not benefit their community at all. Investments in community infrastructure, community life and partnerships are rare or non-existing. Indeed, any negative short-term and long-term impacts of construction on residents and ecosystems are considered secondary in the overall vision of prosperity and economic growth of the County. As a result, communities are suffering from an increase in dust storms and air pollution, Valley fever, and environmental destruction that affects many endangered or threatened plant and animal species. Clearly, residents of the desert communities are not benefitting most from these new business developments. In this case, the so-called ‘green’ energy projects result in environmental pollution, and a human health hazard not only for the residents of Boron and Desert Lakes but for all communities that will be affected by fugitive dust emerging from this site that contains a dangerous fungal pathogen. Therefore, this energy is NOT green as it violates the principles of green chemistry and green engineering (Anastas & Zimmerman, 2006). In the heat of the renewable energy boom, Kern County, which supports the switch from fossil fuels to renewable energy, forgets to protect its residents from threats due to unsustainable land development and environmental injustice. Concerns like this were voiced by other authors (Mulvaney, 2013; Levenda et al., 2021b).

The more recent 2020–2023 Strategic Plan for the County of Kern describes the earlier vision of the Kern Economic Development Corporation in new phrases that sound exciting but are vague at best and are again lacking a commitment to sustainability, such as: To advance employment opportunities and advance economic well-being. The vision is supported by a new mission: To cultivate and promote Kern County’s boundless opportunities for business, working towards regional stability. Put more simply, the Kern EDC’s purpose is to attract, retain and grow business (Kern County, 2022c). With vision and mission stated, the plan is falling short on the description of values. Phrases like ‘adhering to highest values’ and ‘maintaining highest standards of integrity and stewardship’ (Kern County, 2022b) sound hollow when the impacts of environmental destruction and the increase in air pollution on the residents of small desert communities, as well as wildlife, are evident. A separate general plan that includes a climate action plan, protects significant ecological areas, like the one adopted by Los Angeles County in 2015 (Los Angeles County of Regional Planning. Los Angeles County General Plan, 2035), has not been prepared for Kern County). Even San Bernardino County includes a chapter on Conservation Elements in its General Plan (County of San Bernardino Land Use Services Division, County of San Bernardino, 2007), although it is in need of an update.

5. Conclusion

This study focused on environmental justice and health issues in the Mojave Desert due to the implementation of an ambitious renewable energy transition plan driven by the administration. This is the first study that documented the presence of Coccidioides in soils of eastern Kern County which are destined for renewable energy projects, despite environmental health concerns of the community. It is not disputed that renewable energy is the key to future economic growth and wellbeing in Kern County. However, our example showed that not all residents benefit equally from this development. In fact, already disadvantaged small desert communities are feeling the negative side effects of this construction boom, experiencing an increase in air pollution and Valley fever, as well as loss of pristine desert habitat with its endemic wildlife. State and County planning departments, as well as private landowners, are reminded to considering long-term consequences for residents and the environment instead of focusing mainly on short-term profit-maximization. A true commitment to prepare for the future and increase quality of life for those affected by negative effects of construction requires sustainability and community engagement. Policies should be in place and adhered to for facilitating sustainable development and stewardship of the land. Instead of using ‘cheap’ pristine desert land for construction, abandoned farmland with declining water availability should be considered for development, land that is available due to the effects of ongoing droughts in the Southwestern U.S. Ways to reduce the environmental impact of large-scale construction in desert environments exist. Re-vegetation of graded land with native species is currently not required, mainly due to the additional costs required. Successful strategies and methods to minimize impacts of solar development on soil and wildlife have been developed and have been shown to restore graded land and benefit wildlife. This approach would also support regaining ecological functions of the disturbed land and counteract fugitive dust emissions. The costs for this additional investment will pay off in the future (Macknick et al., 2013 ,Beatty et al., 2017 Gibson et al. 2017) and will make solar projects truly sustainable.

Author contributions

A. Lauer was responsible for the project design, funding, collection of samples, the laboratory work, and wrote the manuscript. M. Helton Richardson and D. English supported the fieldwork and contributed to the introduction and discussion of this manuscript. All authors proofread the final manuscript.

Acknowledgements

This project was supported by the California State University Bakersfield Research Council of the University (RCU). We also thank C. Dell’Amico for useful comments on the manuscript.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Data availability statement

PCR sequences were deposited to the GenBank nucleotide database (https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/genbank/).

Additional information

Funding

The work was supported by the California State University, Bakersfield [RCU 2019/20].

Notes on contributors

Deric English

Antje Lauer is a Professor at California State University Bakersfield (CSUB) since 2007. She received her MS in Biology from the University in Oldenburg, Germany, her PhD in Microbiology from the University of Kiel, Germany, and obtained additional research experience at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (Department of Marine Sciences) and at James Madison University in Virginia (Department of Biology). At CSUB, she teaches courses in Environmental and Medical Microbiology, as well as Senior Seminars on Global Change, and has conducted research on Valley Fever in California for more than a decade. More recently, Dr Lauer has focused on topics of environmental justice and restoration.

Melanie Richardson became a registered nurse in 2012, and practices in East Kern County, CA. She received her AS degree in Registered Nursing from Antelope Valley College in California. She also obtained a Bachelor of Science in Nursing and a Master of Science in Nursing Education from Western Governors University. Melanie is also a certified public health nurse. She has lived in East Kern County her entire life and became passionate about Valley Fever research after having patients suffer from the condition while she was caring for them in the hospital. As a public health nurse, Melanie believes that prevention of Valley Fever needs to be a high priority for vulnerable populations.

Melanie Helton Richardson

Deric English is a teacher in the Muroc Joint Unified School District at Boron High School since 1985. He received his secondary teaching credential and bachelor’s degree in History and Sociology from California State University Bakersfield. He continued graduate courses at Fresno Pacific and San Diego State University. He teaches courses in geography, health, psychology, and history. His interests are mining history, mine exploration, and desert preservation. Furthermore, he is a member of Phi Alpha Theta.