California’s sunny climate has long been an envied trademark of the West Coast. But as the renewable energy industry continues to establish itself as a major player in the shifting U.S. economy, the Golden State’s warm appeal is reaching uncharted temperatures — literally. The focus here is on converting the sun’s heat into electricity.

On February 12, the California Energy Commission (CEC) and the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) released a draft Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) for the Solar Two Project, a 750-megawatt (MW) project to be constructed in Imperial County, roughly 100 miles east of San Diego. Stirling Energy Systems (SES) and Tessera Solar have collaborated on the proposed project, which would convert heat into electricity by erecting 42,000 dish-shaped mirrors/Stirling systems, dubbed “SunCatchers,” on 10 square miles in the SoCal desert. The mirrors would concentrate the solar power on the Stirling heat engine, which converts it to electricity.

In late January, SES and Tessera opened the 1.5-megawatt Maricopa Solar power plant in Peoria, Arizona, the first commercial project for the SunCatcher. The draft EIS for the two-phase California project revealed no significant environmental impact beyond the peculiar visual for the roughly 164,000 Imperial County residents, and curious passers by. Specific steps will be needed to protect the desert’s wildlife, but no details have been given as to what those measures would be.