(From the AP) A major Southern California solar energy project could be delayed or even canceled following a deadly outbreak of distemper among kit foxes and the discovery of a prehistoric human settlement on the work site.
The Los Angeles Times reports the $1 billion Genesis Solar Energy Project in the desert east of Los Angeles was on track to start producing power for some 187,500 homes starting in 2014.
But critics tell the Times the distemper outbreak and discovery of a possible Native American cremation site show that accelerated procedures approved by state and federal regulators failed to protect wildlife and irreplaceable cultural resources.
A spokesman for Florida-based NextEra Energy Resources, the builder of Genesis, says the problems threaten the entire project.
Genesis had hoped to be among the first of 12 approved solar farms to start operating in Southern California deserts.