LETTER: The environmental downsides of solar energy

C.J. McKenzie Las Vegas

3 years ago

Bill Hornbuckle, CEO and president of MGM Resorts, speaks to the media as MGM Resorts Internati ... — Bill Hornbuckle, CEO and president of MGM Resorts, speaks to the media as MGM Resorts International turns on the switch to a 100-megawatt solar array along the Great Basin Highway on Monday, June 28, 2021, in Las Vegas. (L.E. Baskow/Las Vegas Review-Journal) @Left_Eye_Images

I read with interest that MGM Resorts has 640 acres for solar panels to provide power to 90 percent of its hotel operations (“MGM to activate solar power array today,” Monday Review-Journal). While I am all for alternative power sources, plastering Nevada with these unsightly panels demonstrates the casino industry’s disdain for our desert habitat.

What is the plan in the future for all hotels? Is Las Vegas and the adjacent area to be covered with solar panels? It seems from an environmental standpoint the turtles, rabbits, wild horses and burros that make the desert their home will be exterminated to provide power for Las Vegas visitors. Is this the only answer the government can come up with?

The turtles are being relocated but the horses and burros are being exterminated. Is there no respect for our desert habitat by the big corporations? Where are the environmentalists hiding?