#desertsolar

[topdealsnet]

3 Best Solar Panel Installation Companies in Tucson in 2026

what’s the best way to soak up the sun and save some $$$ at the same time? 🌞 solar panels, obvi. tucson's got the goods in 2026, and i found the top 3 companies you need to know about.

who’s number one on the list? find out here.

ready to make your rooftop a power plant? ⚡️💪 check this out and make that sustainable switch. reblog if you’re already sun-powered! ☀️

3 Best Solar Panel Installation Companies in Tucson in 2026

[backcountrypictures]

Day 9 "On the Road" Geoglyphs/Intaglios in Blythe, CA

March 18th, 2014

Out the door by 8:30 AM to meet Alfredo Figueroa.  He is an elder from the Chemehuevi tribe, as well as an historian.  He is also a “tribal monitor” – designated to protect sacred sites in the area.  He enthusiastically greeted us in front of his house when we drove up.  My first impression is memorable.  He is a spry man of 80 years old, donning a fedora and khaki pants, with big smile.   He invited us inside, introduced us to his grown daughter Patricia, and we took a seat around his dining room table.  Here we learned about the ancient sacred sites in the area.  We listened to his wonderful stories and teachings about not only the better-known Blythe Intaglios, for which we journeyed here to view, but also the lesser-known intaglios not far from Alfredo’s home.  Alfredo joined David in David’s car, I joined Patricia in hers, and off we went to see the lesser-known Intaglios. 

These faint-lined Intaglios barely visible until you get up close, were in a place we never would have found without guidance.  Once Alfredo pointed out to us the ancient etched lines in the sand, we could indeed make out the giant shapes of beings reaching up to the sky.  In Alfredo’s words, this is a sign of their makers attempt to communicate with the cosmos. 

These are not unlike the celebrated Nazca Lines of Peru, where Erich von Dä niken, author of "Chariots of the Gods" theorized that the gigantic geoglyihs were actually landing strips for alien spacecraft.  No evidence of aliens was found, but a sacred monument to the memory of native artisans who created the Intaglios - said to be thousands of years old.

Unfortunately, the entire area bordering these geogliphs is currently designated for solar development by McCoy Solar Energy, LLC.   

Yes there is a tiny sign very hard to find that reads, protected, please do not disturb artifacts, but my escort, Patricia was nearly brought to tears when witnessing how frail and invisible the boundary appears from where the solar development has raked the landscape to prepare for building, and the lines of the geogliphs/intaglios.

The proposed solar energy generating facility, according to McCoy Solar, LLC, a subsidiary of NextEra Energy Resources, would be capable of generating enough electricity to power approximately 264,000 homes.   Also according to the developers, the majority of the project would be developed on public land administered by the Bureau of Land Management using approximately 4,165 acres of BLM land and approximately 469 acres of private land.  However, no little or no measures have been put in place to protect the geogliphs on the land that butts up right next to the proposed development area.

The enormity of the Figueroa’s concern pressed upon us.   Their need for money in the form of $25,000 is dire – to erect a fence around this ancient site.  To protect it for generations to come. 

We said our farewells, David and I promising to do what we can to help them, and drove on our own, further up the road to see the Blythe Intaglios.  They lined etchings in the sand were far more defined than the Intaglios Alfredo and Patricia had just shown us.  But then again, protective fencing surrounds them.

As we continued our drive North to Las Vegas, my mind reeled with the stories the Figueroas had shared with us.  How hard they had worked years ago, to organize the migrant farm workers.  How hard they continue to work to protect their sacred lands.  How much they need our help in ensuring they continue to honor their heritage and the heritage of their people…How frail the signs of their past remains.  How easy it all is to erase…

On our approach to Vegas, the skyline with so many buildings was a shock to the system after so many days on the road with only the vast expanse of desert before us…We checked into our hotel in Henderson exhausted, so dined in the hotel and called it a day.

[backcountrypictures]

Day 7 "On the Road": "Solar done right" with Terry Weiner from the Desert Protective Council in the Imperial Valley Desert Area

March 16th, 2014

Had breakfast at Brawley Inn with Terry Weiner from the Desert Protective Council. The Imperial Valley desert area is her stomping ground, so she was to be our tour guide for the day. Our car was packed for camping, with no back seats, so David made me a makeshift seat out of patio cushions that worked out just fine. And off we went toward the dunes in Glamis, one of the most popular areas in the country for off road recreation. We passed by a long stretch of green – a surprising color here in the desert – where famers grow numerous things like alfalfa, peppers, lettuce, strawberries, etc. For years, they have been using water from the nearby Colorado River, which has been dammed, in numerous places. Our first stop was in front of what, according to Terry Weiner, a very good example of “solar done right”. It was a coral of cattle beneath solar panels – used both to generate electricity as well as shade the cows. An orchestra of singing blackbirds in nearby trees completed the mini eco-system, as they, in turn, were able to feast on the cow manure or the seeds.

[backcountrypictures]

Day 2 of "On the Road" with Researcher Jim Andre at the Granite Mountain Research Center and Ivanpah Solar Plant

(Ivanpah Solar Plant)

March 11th, 2014

Woke up to cold cold cold. The wind howled all night and practically shook the little cabin they gave us to sleep in at the research center. Made coffee/tea in the cabin using our favorite hot water boiler, then had a quick bagel and cream cheese in the common room. At 9 AM Jim Andre, the botanist from UC Riverside who runs the research center met us for a 2.5 hour brainstorm for the film. He is remarkable. Smart, passionate --- has lived there at the top of the hill nuzzled up against the bulbous granite mounds, completely off the grid for nearly 20 years now. He and his wife Tasha have a two year old and a three year old, and she has to travel 80 miles to take a shower or do a washing machine load. Water is scarce. Even more scarce now that we are in a drought. They talk about having had two “events” so far this year. We have learned that “events” is desert speak for some kind of weather. In this case – rain. Jim Andre is a botanist who specializes in desert ecosystems. His primary concern is that as many as 20% of desert plants and insects have yet to be identified, cataloged, or understood. Yet, we are losing pristine desert lands at an unprecedented pace. We are losing desert species faster than we can name them. We spoke about Ivanpah, the large solar plant developed just off the northern boundary of the preserve. Many desert aficionados are dead set against these large solar plants being built in the desert and David and I are just at the beginning of understanding why. According to Jim Andre, one problem is the technology may in fact be counter-productive. Construction alone of these large scale solar plants stirs up and destroys ancient desert pavement and soil, which in turn releases enormous amounts of carbon into the atmosphere. There is so much more on all of this we need to discover but this in itself, gave both David and me pause. After our meeting with Jim Andre which touched upon numerous themes and regions we might consider including in the film, he suggested a few places for us to see.  We drove to the other side of the Granites for a short stroll.  We found ourselves enchanted by a botanical delight of cactus, shrubs, flowering plants, larvae on tree branches and bees buzzing intensely in their pollination dance. We got back in the car to travel further north into the preserve and turned right down an unmarked god-awful road that meandered way too far over bumps and crevices to what we hoped was the Cottonwood Spring, a natural perennial spring that was rumored to have lush growth and flora. The road was too tiresome and long, we could only go between 3-5 miles an hour on it, and when we got to a spot where we could go no further, we got out and walked, exhausted just a short ways. David was game to walk further than I so I sat down on a rock to rest, and he continued beyond the bend. When he returned a half hour later I asked if he had ever made it to the Spring and he said no. We faced the hour and a half god awful road back to the black top before heading to the research center for dinner and bed. And the next morning, after yet another tough cold howling windy night in the cabin, we looked in our guide book to discover with some frustration, that we had in fact been on the correct road – that the Spring was only a half mile further. But we hadn’t even taken packs or water out of the car to make the journey. Better luck next time. Dreams of rocks. Cacti. Granite. And endless views to die for.