The comment deadline for the E-Group solar plant is January 22, 2026. That is this Thursday! Please if you haven’t already, write a short letter to the City of Twentynine Palms stating why the DEIR (Draft Environmental Impact Report) is deficient and whether the project should be more carefully assessed or stopped now. The DEIR paints a picture of what’s to come if we do not slow down or stop the project as it is currently unfolding. We potentially have a perfect (dust) storm on our hands because the project involves (apologies):

Here are the steps to take:

1. Download the DEIR from the City Website portal found here
2. Read the DEIR or skim it to the best of your ability. The document is supposed to be accessible to you under CEQA. If you have difficulty downloading it or find it difficult to navigate or read, TELL THE CITY. Ask them for help. You can also find a copy of the DEIR at the library as well.
3. Submit your comments to:

Email: Keith Gardner, the Community Development Director of Twentynine Palms at:  kgardner@29palms.org

Mail / hand-delivery:
Keith Gardner, Community Development Director
City of Twentynine Palms
6136 Adobe Road
Twentynine Palms, CA 92277

Here are some key takeaways from the DEIR:

MASS GRADING – The project would involve leveling the varied topograpy. This would involve moving over half a million cubic yards of soil to a wavy-NOT FLAT-landscape). This is a controversial and uncommon practice in the solar industry. Generally flat sites are selected for solar farms.

SOIL THAT IS PARTICULARY SUSCEPTIBLE TO EROSION – The site is situated on unconsolidated alluvial sediments. This is a recipe for erosion.

A WINDY SETTING – we all know how windy Twentynine Palms is. The city is downwind from the solar farm and any dust storms would head in the direction of the main populated areas of the city.

PROXIMITY TO NEIGHBORS AND COMMUNITY SPACES WITHIN CITY LIMITS (neighbors lie just 1400 feet away. Two mile road and Highway 62 are within easy walking distance. The 29 Palms cemetery is only about 2000 feet away. Stater Brothers and commercial corridor are right down the street from there.  

Add this up, and we can begin to see what the effects of this project on our community would be. But add to that: The E-Group solar plant is proposed to be located inside occupied desert tortoise habitat where a healthy population of tortoises now lives. PLUS, this particular desert tortoise just happens to be part of a crucial wildlife corridor linking the marine base and JTNP. Wildlife needs this corridor. Much of it has already been developed or is threatened by other projects (including the Ofland Resort project.) The last thing the desert tortoise—and other wildlife in our region needs is a huge industrial solar power plant with mass grading of pristine desert soil.  

CHECK OUT THE DEIR AND SEND IN YOUR COMMENTS BY JANUARY 22.

TELL A FRIEND! The q

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