The beginning of 2010 saw a promising plan for Owens Lake, the dry expanse in the eastern Sierra Nevada in Inyo County, California, an area that has been plagued by dust storms since the early 20th century.

The Los Angeles Department of Water and Power (LADWP), under the guidance of then-chief S. David Freeman, had planned a pilot solar project for 80 square miles of the lake’s dry land. Early backers dreamed big, envisioning five-gigawatts (GW) of installed solar power — equal to about ten percent of California’s current generating capacity. To boot, the proposed installation promised to keep the dust down, thereby reducing the frequency and intensity of dust storms that frequently rip through dry portions of the lake bed.

The project, however, has unexpectedly encountered a muddy situation. According to the L.A. Times, much of the proposed 80-acre construction site is comprised of a corrosive mud. Preliminary tests show that, if equipment were placed in this area, the solar panels would over time sink several inches into the ground. At that point, the panels would be worn down by the corrosive lake bed, an outcome that would hinder performance and cut short the plant’s usable life.

There is a work-around, but it’s spendy: the panels would have to be placed on a foundation to prevent sinking, an option that many Los Angeles officials say the city cannot afford.

An aerial view of Owens Valley in California. Residents of the area hope that a solar array in the southern portion of the lake will create jobs and stop dust storms that have plagued the area since the early 1900s.

Combine that problem with Chief Freeman’s resignation in April, and you can understand why residents of the Owens Valley are skeptical the project will go forward as planned. The installation would bring solar energy jobs to an area with a struggling economy. According to Owens Valley botanist Michael Prather, the proposed project had already “triggered plans for training school kids to take solar jobs and of building warehouses and parking structures in a place where new jobs are all but nonexistent.”

Since taking over as LADWP’s interim general manager, Austin Beutner has said that he still plans to go ahead with solar panels on the lake, but the size of the project has not yet been decided. Depending on engineering constraints, cost and the amount of energy Los Angeles needs from the Owens Valley, plans may be scaled back.

For now, the LADWP does have plans to begin a smaller, five-acre pilot project on a much more stable sand portion at the north end of the lake.